Letter writer Joe Angelucci (“Democrats Repeat Lies About Rights”) need to turn off Fox News and pay attention to the real world. He wrote that he had “never heard a single Republican ever mention eliminating … (Social Security and Medicare) . . . .”
Consider these examples:
“Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) proposed that Social Security and Medicare be eliminated as federal welfare programs and instead become programs approved by Congress on an annual basis as discretionary spending.” (Washington Post, August 3).
Also, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., in March of this year, proposed a plan what in five years, all federal programs will be “closed” presumably including Social Security and Medicare. He replaced him after he was ousted by Sen. Mitch McConnell, D-Kyv.who criticized Scott’s plan because it would raise taxes and cut Medicare.
So Mr. Angelucci has now heard at least two mentions by the Republican Party of possibly eliminating these programs. If the programs become discretionary, how long does Angelucci think they will be funded if the GOP is in control of Congress?
If the letter writer is worried about Social Security running out of money, how about making ALL income taxable — and not excluding income from any source or above any amount. (Currently annual income over $147,000 is exempt from Social Security tax; the limit increases to $160,200 for 2023.)
And if we refuse to cut the size of the IRS, think how much more hidden income will be taxed overall. This money could be used to finance various programs, such as school lunches for children of low-income parents.
The GOP reminds me of Goethe’s old saying, “There is nothing worse than ignorance in action.”
Jack Koldeweich, Somerset
Be careful what you call “rights”
Joe Angelucci’s recent letter “Democrats Repeat Entitlement Lie” was spot on except for one aspect.
Social Security and Medicare are not “entitlements.” Social Security, food stamps, EBT, and other government benefits are entitlements.
As a recently retired 70 year old, I have been paying into Social Security and Medicare since I was 16 years old.
Ed Hastie, Morris Plains
Gottheimer protects human infrastructure
Recently, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., came to The Colony Co-op in Fort Lee and spoke to an audience of more than 150 Colony shareholders. I was one of those shareholders who attended this engaging question and answer session hosted by our board of directors.
Gottheimer, who is running for re-election on November 8th, brings to his constituents a very rich and thorough understanding of civic structure and public life, looking at what I, as a sociologist, call the “human” infrastructure. It is as important as transport and environmental infrastructure.
By improving environmental infrastructure, returning federal dollars to New Jersey’s many clean water projects and transportation infrastructure, using federal dollars for New Jersey’s ports, roads, rails and bridges, Gottheimer has led the way by investing in our first responders: our firefighters, police and ambulance.
He understands that these dedicated men and women who make up our human infrastructure are essential to a healthy and productive society. Last month, he succeeded in getting the House to pass his bipartisan Investing to Protect Act, which would ensure police departments across the country are funded with the necessary resources to hire, retain, support and train.
Gottheimer revitalized and breathed new life into citizenship. For this reason alone, I am proud to be his voter, and I am grateful to the Board of the Colony for organizing the candidates’ forum in our building.
Amy Neustein, Ph.D., Fort Lee
The highway has increased the charge for cruise control
New Jersey residents, already financially stressed by gas and food prices, now have to endure a 3% increase in tolls on the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway starting in January. approved without discussion by the commissioners of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
As usual, there is little or no consideration of the public interest and public administrators simply pass on the costs, seemingly oblivious to the fact that increased costs can alternatively be solved by reducing public spending.
What a new idea! But since this strategy actually requires verification and cost justification — real work — it’s easier for commission members to just blindly ignore their responsibility to all of us and vote yes at our expense.
Thomas Dwyer, Middletown
Changing the clocks twice a year is normalwith
In the next week or so, I predict there will be a lot of resentment about the clocks being changed, and proposals to switch to “year-round daylight savings time” or something similar. (Daylight saving time will end in 2022 early on Sunday morning, November 6; the hands of the clocks will be moved back one hour.)
I believe that two days a year of one hour of jet lag is a small price to pay for bright evenings in the summer and bright mornings in the winter.
The world is never as simple as we would like it to be, but we have to fight it. There are much more important issues that we need to address.
Peter Hayman, New Brunswick
Time to stop the bad publicity
The barrage of political ads on television is an example of a great scam perpetrated by polling and advertising companies. They convinced the political class of this endless, nauseating, repetition gathers votes.
Who in their right mind was really struck by this overwhelming anxiety? But polls and ad campaigns have convinced our political lemmings otherwise, so ka-chin, ka-chin, they go to their cash registers.
And we, the TV audience, have to suffer until November 8.
Aspirin, anyone?
Don Buzney, East Brunswick
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