Lawmakers are pushing a bill called the Social Security Fairness Act which would repeal (WEP) Windfall Elimination Provision and (GPO) Government Pension Offset. They allow Social Security to be reduced by the amount of their pension. They were designed to prevent double dipping for those who worked at jobs taking out Social Security and jobs that took out for government retirement benefits, such as police, fire fighters, and other government workers. WEP is for individuals who are eligible for the pensions and GPO is for spouses and survivors of pensioners. It would affect only two million receiving WEP and 800,000 receiving GPO and would not benefit the majority of Seniors. While they say it deprives Seniors of benefits they earned, repealing them would enable them to draw from both funds. People who worked two jobs paying into Social Security had their credits combined and the same should be done with those working government jobs. The government jobs are high end union jobs which pay well so they are receiving good benefits from their government pension. If both husband and wife worked at both kinds of jobs, they could draw four pensions, far above the average Senior. Repealing them would add about two billion dollars to cost of Social Security and strain an already stressed system. At times while I was out of work, I did substituting in the schools and I taught at a community college on the side for a while but didn’t have enough credits to draw a pension so I merged my school benefits in with my Social Security because they were so few. If they make any changes, they should require the two funds be merged so those eligible only drew from one fund. It is evident the Democrats want to appease government union workers who are becoming unhappy with the performance of the Democrats and abandoning them after a long history of supporting Democrats who in turn gave special benefits and privileges to government union workers through closed shop laws requiring that government workers had to belong to the union and pay union dues, as well as fighting right to work laws that allowed people to work in union shops without being forced to join the union. They also pushed through generous wage packages that provided government workers with wages and benefits well above the market average.
Senior Citizen issues-I
While Democrats continue to declare that Republicans want to cut Medicare, they hide the fact that they are the true threat. This coming October, Medicare Advantage plans will change a lot. Recent cuts in payments by President Biden will result in drastic cuts in services available to Seniors. They will also result in more doctors refusing to accept Medicare Advantage plans. Many doctors are already beginning to refuse to accept Medicare Advantage plans as a result of last year’s cuts. My wife just got notice one of her medical providers no longer accepts Medicare Advantage coverage. Medicare Advantage plans are paid for with Medicare funds but are administered by private companies which have lower overhead and a lot less waste. As a result, they can offer clients a lot more services than traditional Medicare administered by the government for the same amount of money. Many Seniors prefer them because they can get more services without having to pay more, however, with cuts in government payments, those companies can not offer a lot of the benefits previously provided. The goal of Democrats is to return many Seniors to government plans where the government can weed out those requiring expensive services by denying them services resulting in an early death or directing them to lower cost maintenance plans where the symptoms are treated but they are not cured. Their goal is to eventually merge it with a universal health care plan where a government panel could cut off treatment to those no longer felt worth the expense. Republicans on the other hand want to cut benefits to illegal immigrants and others who did not pay into the system or meet eligibility requirements to preserve the fund for Seniors who paid into the program and deserve to receive it.
Fifth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 29
Adults-Dealing with Issues Many pastors tell me they don’t get involved in political issues, however many of those political issues are also moral issues. Supporting abortion isn’t just a political viewpoint, it is a violation of God’s moral law and destroys the fabric of the nation. Many adults have no other source of information besides the liberal media, which has increasingly pushed liberal agendas without any discussion. In fact, the liberal media often blocks any attempt to present the facts and allow voters to decide the issue for themselves. Politicians seek to control the population by controlling what they hear. If people only hear one view, they think it is true. As a result, the church must teach Christian values and help people decide what is right. Christians cannot live a Christian lifestyle unless they have the freedom to be able to do it. Liberal politicians and judges are determined to take away our right to do that through laws and judicial decisions. The church must help members understand the results of liberal policies and oppose attempts to impose liberal policies which are detrimental to the country and violate God’s moral law. If we are to maintain the right to spread the Gospel, we must oppose attempts to force Christians to go against their beliefs and support actions condemned by Scripture. That requires a membership that understands the issues and who votes in judges and politicians who will uphold citizen’s rights and the rule of law. Liberal politicians are trying to silence the church because they know that informed citizens will not fall for their lies.
Sanctity of Life-A-3-G
Rapists hope the woman will abort the baby if they become pregnant so that it will destroy the evidence and protect them from prosecution. However, when the woman decides to keep the baby, they sometimes file for child custody to harass the woman and gain custody so they won’t have to pay child support. Rapists also use custody laws to get at children and molest them. They may also use the laws to threaten the mother and force her to continue submitting to the rapist. Right to Life groups seek to help rape victims choose life for the baby and protect the mother and the child. They have been pushing a Federal law, “The Rape Survivors Child Custody Act” to protect women who are victims of rape and choose to keep their child. We must also encourage States to pass laws terminating the custody rights of rapists. Recently, a 10 year old girl was raped and became pregnant. Children’s Services seized the girl and took her to an abortion clinic and got her an abortion against her parent’s wishes. While the rapist stole her innocence, Children’s Service took her child. Adults can say it is different because the baby was conceived during rape, but a 10 year old girl does not make that distinction. To her, it was her child regardless of how it was conceived. She was victimized as much, if not more, by Children’s Services than she was by the rapist. In addition, by aborting the baby, the rapist probably went free because the abortionist destroyed the evidence.
Sanctity of LIfe-A-2-L
Kamala Harris has been crying about a woman who died because she couldn’t get medical care due to the repeal of Roe vs Wade, however it is a lie. The woman had a chemical abortion. The baby was not completely expelled leading to an infection which spread killing the mother. By the time she was taken to the hospital, it had spread to where medical care was no longer able to save her. Medical personnel did all they could but it was too late to save her. The Federal Drug Administration approved the drugs for home use without medical supervision. The pills are given to the woman by the doctor or clinic. The woman takes them home and takes the pills. The baby is then expelled. As a result, the woman is often alone or with friends or family who are not trained to spot complications. If medical personnel had been supervising it or if she had been in a hospital where she could have been monitored, it probably would have been caught immediately and treated but the abortion is directly responsible and the FDA is equally guilty for approving it for home use without medical supervision. She would probably be alive today if she had not had the abortion or if she had medical supervision. If she would have carried it to term, she probably would have been supervised by a doctor or midwife during delivery where any complications could have been handled immediately. Women die regularly from botched abortions but the abortion industry hides the facts so they will not lose business. They claim abortions are to protect the life of the mother but such instances are very rare. The abortion puts the mother at added risk because it is not natural and puts added stress on the mother. The abortion industry not only has no value for life, either that of the mother or the child, it also has no value for truth. Abortion is not the safe procedure they say it is. Many are rushed and careless resulting in injury and even death to the mother.
Sanctity of LIfe-A-2-K
Planned Parenthood is pushing for unlimited abortion under the pretense of protecting the mother. They recently pushed through an amendment to the Ohio State Constitution under the pretense of protecting mothers when their life was threatened but included a phrase that would allow an abortion if the doctors felt the women’s mental health was in danger. It gives the doctor the authority to perform abortions up to the time of birth for any reason , since every unwanted pregnancy is stressful to the mother. It also opens the door to the doctor doing it even when the mother objects because it says the doctor may perform it if he feels it is necessary but does not require the mother’s consent. That allows them to abort a baby when a rapist or a relative engaging in incest brings in a pregnant woman and seeks an abortion even when the woman doesn’t want it. It also allows parents, husbands or boyfriends to force the woman to have the abortion against her will. It also included a provision that prevents interference when the woman or young girl wants an abortion. That prevents parents of a minor child from preventing her from getting an abortion, and allows a girl as young as 10 or 11 to get an abortion without her parents knowledge or consent. They claim they care about the poor girl but they just want the money. They are also pushing the same scam in other States to overturn pro-life laws.
Fourth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 22
Youth-dealing with issues Many youth groups have lots of fun stuff but are short on teaching about the faith. In addition, most teaching is theological and does not deal with the basic issues young people are struggling with every day in school and at home. As a result, most youth drop out of church when they graduate from high school or before because they do not see the church having anything relevant to say in the issues they are struggling with. They will be discussing the issues with their classmates and teachers where they get a secular view, but youth groups need to have regular discussions of important issues they face so young people can get a Christian view of the issues. Without it, the youth accept the secular view by default because they do not have the knowledge to recognize the errors in liberal teachings. (see “Truly In The World, But Not Of It”-part A & B for information on important issues today. I also have a number of courses on Christian values in my series on Basic Christian Beliefs)
Senior Citizen issues-H
Projected Social Security Cost of living raises are expected to be the lowest since 2021. Supposedly, inflation is leveling off but it doesn’t show in food prices which have increased must faster than that. Food makes up a large portion of the expenses of many Seniors so they will take a serious loss this year. The economy isn’t improving, they are manipulating the figures to make it seem like the economy is improving because it is an election year. It indicates how little this administration thinks of Seniors. In their philosophy, you are only important if you contribute income and that excludes unborn babies, those who are seriously ill or injured, and the elderly. Seniors make up a large and increasing portion of voters so they are trying to impress them while not wanting to pour a lot of money into them.
Health Care-I
Kamala Harris is proposing a national health care system similar to the one she pushed in her home State. It would expand Obamacare to complete coverage for everyone under one system. Canada has one and it has been failing for years with delays in treatment for months for critical care and longer for routine care. Many Canadians come to the United States for treatment even though they have to pay out of their own pocket. In England a lot of people die every day waiting for emergency care and their system is so overwhelmed they have proposed supplementing the system with a series of private clinics. While proponents claims it makes care available to everyone, it forces health care providers to get approval from government boards that weigh the cost against benefit and reject a lot of care to those who are critically ill or injured or are elderly, as not worth the cost. It results in endless delays due to layers of authorizations, and it depersonalizes care as decisions are made by government review boards and patients are seen as units rather than individuals. It is also not flexible enough to meet individual needs. While they say it cuts the cost of care to the individual, the true cost is hidden in taxes and the cost of health care increases as it adds layers of government bureaucracies.