The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Some seventy six years ago your writer was earning his Merit Badges as a new Boy Scout, and was reminiscing over his first year in the “World of Work.” He was thinking over his bi-weekly salary that put a handsome $20. in his pocket twice a month—before taxes. Yet to come that year was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the realization that our country was now engaged in World War II. Now, nearly nine decades later, ushered into his life is a war-time era, replete with reali...
While many of us look forward to Friday, with its end-of-the-workweek designation and our weekend plans, certain cultures consider it an unlucky day. Some people, suffering from triskaidekaphobia, are truly terrified of the number 13. Combine the two factors and it’s not surprising that many believe that Friday the 13th is a frightening day. While superstitions play an important part in the Friday the 13th jitters, we offer a different approach to this “unlucky” day with 13 fearless thing...
Is Social Security a topic in your conversations these days? Are you familiar with the lingo used to describe Social Security benefits, or does it sound like a new vocabulary to you? Social Security employees strive to explain benefits using easy-to-understand, plain language. But if a technical term or acronym (an abbreviation of the first letters of words in a phrase) that you don't know slips into the conversation or appears in written material, you can easily find the meaning in our online...
As of a year ago, the U.S. population was 322,762,018, a rise of more than 2.4 million than was counted a year ago. Unfortunately, an estimated 11.4 million of this number are illegal entrants into the United States, a good many of whom have their lives subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer; and more than 11 million of them are here illegally—many of whom are on the U.S. dole. Which is costing the American taxpayer better than $54.5 billion a year in dollars that could have been spent of making l...
For those of us who number our life spans in a multiple of decades we've witnessed an interesting range of adjectives used to describe our Congress, from irascibility to serene. For the current Congress, albeit in its infancy, the appropriate adjective seems to be irascible: “easily provoked to anger,” and “very irritable.” These fit quite well. In fact, this may be the worst Congress in our history as it relates to trampling our nation's raison d'etre into dust. At the other end of the spectru...
Right now is the perfect time to start planning for a secure, comfortable retirement. And you can count on Social Security to help you begin the process. First, we encourage you to set up an online my Social Security account so you can verify your lifetime earnings record and make sure you get credit for all of your contributions to the Social Security system through the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll taxes. If you haven’t set up your personal my Social Security account y...
What has happened to journalism over the past half century? When your humble scribe first chose to be a news person there were iron clad rules to which persons practicing this craft had to abide. Today, as one partakes of journalistic outpourings there seems to be virtually no rules scribes must follow; which is sad. Virtually every standard a news writer had to follow has, by now, been scrapped. Who is to blame? It's hard to point an accurate finger, unless one points an accusing finger at a...
For more and more Americans, reaching retirement age no longer means the end of an active working life. Many people are choosing to work past the age of 65, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you’re willing and able, maintaining gainful employment later in life could go a long way toward ensuring a secure future for you and your family. Besides providing you with additional income to pay your bills, extending your employment or working for yourself could boo...
If we were looking for a definition of the adjective indivisible we would learn that it means “unable to be divided or separated.” Now that's relatively straightforward and simple. It means that something that is indivisible is something that is a tight, complete entity that can't be chopped up into bits and pieces, into smaller portions that can be dealt with and employed according to one's individual wishes. Such as “One nation indivisible,” as the U.S.A. is supposed to be. Unfortu...
Social Security continues to evaluate and improve how we protect what’s important to you. We take this responsibility seriously, and we have a robust cybersecurity program in place to help protect the personal information you entrust to us. Adding additional security measures to safeguard your personal information — but making them easy to use — is a vital part of keeping you safe and secure. Most people who do business with us online use our my Social Security portal, where, if you curre...
The antics of former National Security Adviser Susan Rice suggest that what a good many of those in our government employ have learned; especially as it relates to doing well in government employ. Today's post presidential election nonsense suggests that while most Americans don't feed at the public trough, some do it with a vengeance. It's difficult for the “old-timer” faction in America to come to grips with the absolute iodicy that has been taking place in the U.S., especially as it rel...
One of the greatest gifts you can give a grandchild is the gift of financial literacy. Helping them save money early in life and showing them how to make wise spending decisions goes a long way toward a bright financial future. As they get older, they may want to save for special purchases or their college education. You can encourage them when they get their first job to begin saving for the future, including their retirement. Planning for the Future with my Social Security When you celebrate...
By the time our readers peruse this item, downtown Montgomery's famous Chris' Hot Dogs will have celebrated its 100th year of serving its famous hot dogs. For many of us who earned our salaries working in the area, Chris' Hot Dogs was often a lunchtime destination. Last month, a group of seniors from Elmcroft of Halcyon assisted living facility focused their monthly dining out session on Montgomery's famous Chris', located on Montgomery's famous Dexter Avenue. On hand for the memorable visit...
For more than 80 years, Social Security has helped secure today and tomorrow with information, tools, and resources to meet our customers’ changing needs and lifestyles. In April, we celebrate National Social Security Month and encourage you to know your Social Security by exploring what you can do online at www.socialsecurity.gov. Social Security is collaborating with groups and organizations around the country to host numerous events and activities to raise awareness about our many valuable b...
One of your writer's most enjoyable and invigorating experiences happened during the years spent as a member of the Alabama Silver-Haired Legislature. We operated much the same as the Sate's House of Representatives, in that each of us prepared and submitted resolutions that urged legislation the regular legislature should enact. They addressed matters that were of particular concern to the State's senior citizens. Each representative researched and wrote legislative proposals that addressed...
Enjoying a comfortable retirement is everyone’s dream. For over 80 years, Social Security has been helping people realize those dreams, assisting people through life’s journey with a variety of benefits. It’s up to you as to when you can start retirement benefits. You could start them a little earlier or wait until your “full retirement age.” There are benefits to either decision, pun intended. Full retirement age refers to the age when a person can receive their Social Security benefits without...
“We just ain't got no couth no more.” Those of us who are stumbling into our Golden Years, and are watching national events on television are frequently reminded of two behaviors we learned in our youth; two behaviors that we seldom witness any more. These are manners and decorum. We grew up being constantly reminded of our manners, and frequently punished should we stray from either. We were constantly being reminded of our manners by our elders, and straying from the principle of manners wou...
Saving for the future is a vital part of ensuring a secure retirement. American Savings Education Council and America Saves coordinate the annual America Saves Week. Started in 2007, the week is an annual opportunity for organizations to promote good savings behavior and a chance for individuals to assess their own saving status. For years, Social Security has collaborated with America Saves Week to promote our shared mission of helping millions of people save for their future. This year,...
Forty-three years ago Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. published a book entitled “The Imperial Presidency,” in which he outlined how our presidents have managed to exceed the powers granted to that office by our Constitution. And they've done it with impunity, especially over the last 43 years. Since George Washington assumed the office in 1789, our nation has been led by a variety of presidents, some exceptional, and some we would just as soon forget, and the latest incumbent is considered by man...
It's that time of year again. Preparing for tax season can seem overwhelming. Some forms and paperwork might be difficult to track down. If you misplaced your Benefits Statement or haven't received it by the end of January, we've made it easy for you to go online to request a replacement with my Social Security. An SSA-1099, also called a Benefit Statement, is a tax form Social Security mails each year in January to the more than 60 million people who receive Social Security benefits. It shows...
It's that time of the year when the thoughts of most of us turn to the celebration of Christmas. It's also the time of the year when the squirrels come out of the woodwork and we're inundated with more nonsense than we want to endure as it relates to the holiday: it's principal characters, and its celebration. From this person's viewpoint there are two tales that best represent Christmas and all it stands for; these being: O. Henry's The gift of the Magi, and Charles dickens' A Christmas Carol....
Gathering with family and friends during the holiday season reminds us we’re part of a strong community. And sometimes, in the spirit of the season, we break into song. Our take on “The Twelve Days of Christmas” — a holiday favorite since 1780 — highlights the national community we care for all year long. We call it “The Twelve Sites of Social Security.” For the first site of Social Security, we give to you: our home page, www.socialsecurity.gov. It’s the place to go for all things Social S...
We should take exception to the use of the term: Attention Deficit Disorder,especially so, those of us who have been blessed with it. The noun attention is acceptable since a major portion of this psychological difference does tend to focus on the concentration of mental powers. The phrase: Short attention span, was much more accurate and had less of a negative connotation about it. But the education community does like to invent new titles for things. Now the word deficit presents a lot of...
One of the most common threats we face is identity theft. Just imagine someone stealing your information and pretending to be you. You’d have no control as this person acts in your name, spending money — and possibly, ruining your credit. That’s one trick you can do without, which is why we’ve added an extra layer of security for our customers when they interact with us online. Your my Social Security at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount is a safe and secure place to do business with us. On July...
One can only stand amazed at the multitude of ways by which the American people are able to abuse the English language; especially as it relates to their national identity. It's bad enough that Americans have had the general neutral abomination inflicted upon us, as well as the various twists and turns that various racial silliness have brought upon them, not to mention the abuses that various segments have introduced into our language, it's no wonder that very few Americans are able to speak...
