[Grovenet] Social Security

[Eric Canon]

--- Kristy <hannah at teleport.com> wrote:

> Yup...sometimes a person gets a little behind! 
> Kristy
> 
> 
> > Thanks! So that issue was settled in 1984.
> So, for the past 22 years
> > Congress pays into and collects from SS like
> everyone else. 
> > 
> > Ron D'Eau Claire 

This is a mind set. By that, I mean the
indignation and helplessness people feel is
accelerated with emails like the one Hoss shared
with us and passed on in response to his own
feelings about how things are going (as I
remember, Hoss has sent this same one before,
too, and perhaps forgotten it was bogus). And
there are people only too willing and eager to
take advantage of that attitude.

Case in point is the measure to cap government
spending. 

http://www.ocpp.org/2006/issue060629%20TABORduck.pdf

There were ads in the Oregonian this week showing
a nasty looking civil servant with the headline
that the unions have arraigned with their muscle
and implied greed that state offices be
overstaffed. The message is that the only way to
out fox the unions is to cap spending. It's a
TABOR law just like Colorado passed and later
rescinded. Of course, if the unions had a tenth
of the influence of the people who spend big for
what they want, the minimum wage would be a lot
closer to a real living wage, which would help
our entire nation.

Same with the measure about term limits. Have we
not learned? Running a government is complicated.
There are a lot of us folks living here now. We
need experienced people who know how the thing
works. But the mindset is that politicians are
corrupt. They may be sometimes, but there are
many who are entirely honorable and dedicated, as
well as smart and experienced! Term limits hurts
our chances for effective government, not the
other way around. Keep the good ones who serve us
well, and then we need to do the work to identify
the corrupt and inept ones and vote them out.
(Looks like we did good with Charles Starr, who
was so pathetic, and obstructionist, too.)

When a measure like this comes along, frustrated
voters, who don't pay quite enough attention as
they should, see instant relief, and confirmation
of what they suspected all along. They choose the
easy way. I mean, if we're looking to attribute
blame, let's put it on the politician! Much
better than on one of us for being uninformed!

Another example that really fried me was Terry
Rilling's response to Chuck Riley's piece in the
News Times. Chuck Riley realizes the schools have
been squeezed by the legislature big time. He'd
like the Oregon legislature to do their duty by
our schools. 

Terry Rilling, on the other hand, says the
schools have little regard for our hard earned
money and waste it hand over foot.

To me, that's utterly insulting to our school
board. It's utterly insulting to Jack Musser.
It's insulting to everyone who works so hard to
give our kids the education they deserve. It
tells me Terry Rilling is ignorant of the
situation and that his mind is closed shut. He
won't listen to our school leaders. Where Chuck
wants to sit down and talk with the voters about
schools, Terry wants to tell you raising taxes is
not something he will consider and that the
schools need to do with what they have, even if
they are presently underfunded. Some folks
believe that. Rilling will get lots of votes with
that position. But, if you're concerned about our
schools, it's more of the same. Charles Starr all
over again.

I've heard and talked with closed minds in the
legislature myself. I don't like their smirk very
much. Educating kids is our responsibility, as a
society. If we don't it won't get done.

There is a group of very greedy folks who fan
these flames, with their emails and ads and sound
bites. They manipulate our citizens. We are all
victims of their excesses.