What's the opposite of progress…? Congress! We're all aware of the royal shafting we get from the government in so many ways every day. Our tax dollars fund third-world weapons deals, $400 toilet seats, all-expense-paid "research junkets" to the world's best golf courses, etc., etc… But this one may top the list. Did you know that Congressmen (excuse me-Congresspersons) don't pay into Social Security? Why? Because they've got their own retirement plan-one that even the most pampered fat-cat CEO would envy. How's this for a perk: According to The Daily World, for every remaining day of their lives, members of Congress enjoy: 100% of their final yearly salary
Periodic cost of living increases
A generous yearly spousal allowance
Continued complete health care coverage Not bad, huh? Daily World's calculations show how one recent Congressional retiree-Senator Bill Bradley (D, New Jersey)-can expect to collect (along with his spouse) over 7.5 million dollars in retirement income. And that's based on only an average life expectancy. Does this sound like government "of the people" to you? The typical American (retiring at 62) would have to live to be more than 700 years old to collect as much under today's Social Security plan. Figures like this put the Congressional bickering about the costs of Medicare and prescription drugs coverage in a completely different light as far as I'm concerned. And it makes you wonder: Would the current outlook for Social Security be so bleak if members of Congress were depending on it for their own retirement? Still benefiting from my own schoolyard lessons,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
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