From rasmussenreports.com:
Forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters say working Americans should be allowed to opt out of Social Security and provide for their own retirement planning.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% disagree and do not believe Americans should be able to opt out of Social Security. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure.
A majority of voters under 50 say workers should be allowed to opt out. A plurality of those over 50 disagree.
The Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-203) amended the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions to require that State and local government employees be covered by Social Security throughout their last 60 months of employment to be exempt from GPO. Prior to July 1, 2004, GPO did not apply if an individual’s last day of employment was in a position that was covered by both Social Security (under a Section 218 agreement) and a State or local government pension system.
The Educational Resource Center, Inc. (also known as John Wood Charter School or JWCS), located in San Antonio TX, hired 633 individuals to work for one day in order to meet the “last day” GPO exemption. SSA determined that work at JWCS did not qualify for Social Security coverage because JWCS had not entered into an approved 218 agreement between the State of Texas and SSA. Therefore, individuals who applied for their spouse’s or widow’s benefit after completing their “last day” at JWCS had GPO applied to their records.
The Attorney General of Texas was consulted and determined that an open-enrollment charter school, such as JWCS, is a governmental entity under Texas law. Since the Attorney General of Texas has rendered this decision, the State of Texas has taken the necessary steps to include JWCS in a Section 218 agreement that allows the entity to be covered by Social Security.
Social Security Administration seeks to purchase ammunition for 39 Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General’s locations. ...
Item: 357 sig bonded 125 grain jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition for law enforcement
Quantity: 209,000 rounds ...
Item: 12 gauge 00 9 pellet buckshot 2 ¾” for law enforcement (250 rounds per case)
Quantity: 25 cases ...
Item: 12 gauge rifled slug 2 ¾” low recoil for law enforcement (250 rounds per case)
Quantity: 31 cases
Nearly 30 years after the Social Security Administration opened its $92 million Metro West complex on Baltimore's west side, federal officials are planning to move 1,600 employees from there to an office building to be constructed near the Reisterstown Plaza Metro station in Northwest Baltimore.
The GSA is seeking a private developer to construct a 538,000-square-foot office building and 1,076-space garage and lease it to the Social Security Administration.
According to state and federal officials, the building is needed by 2012 to accommodate 1,600 SSA employees who work in "functionally obsolete" space at the Metro West complex at 300 N. Greene St. About 400 more Metro West employees will be relocated to the Social Security Administration headquarters complex in Woodlawn, leaving none at Metro West.
The Reisterstown Plaza project will be one of the largest and most expensive federal office buildings to rise in Baltimore in years. The GSA has not disclosed a construction price, but using an industry standard of $200 per square foot, it would cost more than $100 million to build. It is expected to result in the creation of hundreds of construction jobs and to bring federal employees to a section of Baltimore that has been hard hit by the recession.
"This is not a stimulus project, but it will do exactly what stimulus money is meant to do," said City Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector, whose district includes 6100 Wabash Ave. "It is really an economic generator for the next 40 years." ...
According to public officials, the 15-story tower and two five-story wings no longer meet the needs of the Social Security Administration for a variety of reasons, including technological inadequacy and the security risk posed by a sky bridge over a major highway. According to Gilliam, the GSA's goal is to "dispose of" the Metro West facility after the SSA moves out. One potential user is the University of Maryland, whose Baltimore campus is several blocks to the south.
Social Security could face a deficit within two years, according to U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus [Republican] who met with The Tuscaloosa News editorial board Tuesday.“The situation is much worse than people realize, especially because of the problems brought on by the recession, near depression,” said Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, in an interview with the Tuscaloosa News editorial board.
Bachus, the ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, said most people seem unaware of the impending crisis. He initially said Social Security could face "default" within two years, but his staff responded later saying the Congresssman intended to say "deficit." ...
The solvency of Social Security, which provides pensions for people older than 65, has not played a major role in the current debate about health care in Congress. Bachus said it will not likely be addressed in any health-care bill the House eventually passes, although if a Social Security bailout is needed, it will invariably have an impact on government health-care programs. ...
“We could raise the retirement age, or in the worst case, cut back on some benefits,” he said. “But that is something we are just now beginning to get a handle on.”
Sounds like Mrs. Jackson might qualify for parent's benefits. I wonder if she has applied.Chances are Katherine Jackson never imagined Social Security would be her only source of income. But truth be told…that’s probably the case for countless other Americans, rich and poor, who face retirement in a much different fiscal situation then they had dreamed. That’s why these short references buried in all the recent coverage of Michael Jackson’s death really caught our attention:“Lawyers for the estate wrote: ‘We are informed that Mrs. Jackson was also financially dependent upon Michael Jackson and that other than extremely modest social security benefits, Mrs. Jackson has no independent means of support.’… Jackson’s children will receive Social Security benefits, which have been applied for but payments have not yet started. Their monthly stipends from the estate may be reduced, depending on much money they receive from Social Security, the filings state.”
