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• On the article Hit 'em Where it Hurts? How About Congress Doesn't Get Paid Until Sequestration Ends?

  Anthony Fasolo

  10:19 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013

  Good point. I did not consider disablity or workers compensation when I wrote about SS. Yes, unfortunately there are unscupulous people who will try to beat the system and that is why the government is going after the cheaters.

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• On the article Hit 'em Where it Hurts? How About Congress Doesn't Get Paid Until Sequestration Ends?

  Anthony Fasolo

  9:17 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013

  I don't see how anyone can receive social security(ss) payments if he or she did not contribute to the program. Once you are eligible to receive ss, you apply to the ss adminstration. They then check their records, using your ss number, to see if your employer or you, if self-employed, contributed to the program. Your monthly payment is determined by a formula that takes into account the amount contirbuted and if you met the min. time required to contibute. The Social Security Adminstration has a web-site that explains this. The SS account did have surplusses in it in the past that were turned over to the general fund(by law). To counter this, many want to institute a "lock box" where ss funds will stay in the ss acount. Then there is MEDICARE (not MEDICAID, which is a separate program). If you receive ss payments you also are eligible for medial care(not dental) and still pay into it after you retire. Your monthly amount is indexed to inflation. The problem today is that there are fewer workers paying into the system than before. Some suggested fixes are: remove the cap on the amount one pays into the system each year, means test the amount you receive and SLOWLY increase the retirement age to 70.

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• On the article Hit 'em Where it Hurts? How About Congress Doesn't Get Paid Until Sequestration Ends?

  

  Anthony Fasolo

  1:16 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013

  I disagree it is not irresponsible but rather a very good idea. This discussion serves several useful purposes:
  1. It allows people to "vent"-as many of the comments show there is a lot of frustration of out there.
  2. It shows that there is a lot of misinformation out there too which allows for others to clarify things.
  3. The idea of stopping all or part of their pay until a budget is reached is actually one that many people agree with, including Congressman Frank Wolf. They could all do it voluntarilly also as has Del Elanor Holmes Norton of DC(she is taking a 20% pay cut so that her staff can work.)

• On the article Hit 'em Where it Hurts? How About Congress Doesn't Get Paid Until Sequestration Ends?

  

  Anthony Fasolo

  10:50 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

  FYI. I looked at the constitution and there are two parts dealing with pay that apply here:
  1. Article I sec.6: "The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States...."and
  2. XXVII amendment: "No law, varying the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." In other words they cannot raise THEIR own pay but can raise the compensation of the NEXT congress.

• On the article Hit 'em Where it Hurts? How About Congress Doesn't Get Paid Until Sequestration Ends?

  

  Anthony Fasolo

  8:44 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013

  That is the way that the system is SUPPOSED to work but special Interests get in the way(AARP, NRA, Big Pharma---5 billion dollars spent on lobbying!) . So there are three things that have to happen:
  1. Real campaign finance reform ala Mc cain/Feingold,
  2. Eliminate Gerrymandering (so when we do re-districting we have an impartial commission draw the district lines), and
  3. Informed voters who can cut through the name-calliing and half-truths to get to the real issues and where the candidates stand(League of Women Voters try to do this--inform the voter)

• On the article Hit 'em Where it Hurts? How About Congress Doesn't Get Paid Until Sequestration Ends?

  

  Anthony Fasolo

  1:23 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013

  A Conclave of Congress!! I love it!
  Lock'em up with NO CONTACT to the outside world (as in Rome) and don't let them out until we finally have a budget for the remainder of this year and for next FY. They can sleep and eat in the capitol. Capitol Police could make sure the rules are followed.

• On the article Hit 'em Where it Hurts? How About Congress Doesn't Get Paid Until Sequestration Ends?

  

  Anthony Fasolo

  2:36 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013

  You took the words out of my mouth. I learned a long time ago that when we have a problem you want to solve, we should all be bring "light" and not" heat" to the subject. Also the Whole Truth helps. First, to answer the question,I believe that congress should go without pay until we have a budget. In fact I understand that Del. Elanore Holmes Norton in DC is taking a 20% cut in her pay. They need to feel the pain.
  Second, our president did in fact suggest the Sequestration but it was meant as a "poison pill", something that congress would not let happen. It was also approved by Republicans as well as Dems. Speaker John Boehner was quoted as saying that he got 97% of what he wanted, after the sequestration idea was approved.
  Third,Congress should also listen to our military and civilain leaders in the DoD when they say they do not need a particular program.
  Fourth, medical costs have to be addressed. They are too high. This is difficult to do since we have a "for profit" medical system.
  Fifth, since 70 is the new 30. Why can't we gradually increase retirement age as we did under Pres. Clinton, un-cap the amount at which time we stop paying into Social Security (SS)and then make sure that what goes into SS stays there so that surpluses do not revert to general revenue?
  Sixth, revise the tax code eliminate "loop holes"
  Seventh, get money out of politics.
  Eighth, adopt Simpson-Bowles or a variation of it.

• On the article ‘Tebow Bill’ Passes House, Awaits Senate Action

  

  Anthony Fasolo

  11:22 am on Tuesday, February 12, 2013

  Agree. He can also choose which local "out of school" teams his child can play on.

• On the article Leesburg Marches to Honor Martin Luther King Jr.

  Anthony Fasolo

  9:43 am on Tuesday, January 22, 2013

  A very special day as many marched(including our mayor Kirsten Umstaddt and council members Kelly Burk, Dave Butler and Marty Martinez) in honor of MLK day while 40 miles away our first black president, Barack Obama was getting ready to be be inaugurated for his second term. Only in America!!

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• On the article Cuccinelli: Jail 'Logical' Protest to Obamacare Contraception Mandate

  

  Anthony Fasolo

  4:49 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

  I agree. I lived in Roman Catholic Italy for 8 years and noted that they had then and still have have an almost ZERO birthrate. I don't think that this is a result of women playing "Vatican Roulette". It is due to the use of contraceptives. I can understand the RC Church being against abortion but I cannot understand why they are against contraceptives, especially when women in the very same country where the Vatican is located has a ZERO birthrate. As far as our AG goes, he is out of touch as trhe Pope is and is only continuing the same old Republican attack on women.