Police news: Liberty couple indicted for disability fraud

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sweetiepie Saturday, November 7, 2009: 6:51 am

well the ss admin doesn't allow enough for folks to live off of to start with and now they want to prosecute an older couple for just trying to make ends meet? Our system at its best when there are people out there collecting it that has absolutely no business getting it. such as illegals for starters. you work all your life to pay into it and get very little back and this is what they want to do to old folks.

dmh2448 Saturday, November 7, 2009: 12:22 pm

I agree with sweetiepie they cant afford there meds or food they have to pick which one the get each month do they get food or there meds its awful for the elderly

ukblue Saturday, November 7, 2009: 1:45 pm

sweetiepie, your assertion that you get very little back of what you pay in is incorrect. Most estimates are that a person gets back every penny they pay in after five years of drawing social security. That's one of the reasons SS is in trouble. When SS was enacted, the average person only lived long enough to draw for a very few years. Not any more. Secondly, dmh, while I have the greatest sympathy for people who must live on such strict budgets, it is not my fault they were unable to plan better for their retirement. Everyone seems to think that they are entitled to stop working at 62 or 64 or whatever age. You are only entitled to retire if you have planned and are able to support yourself during your retirement. If not, then you must continue to work - just as simple as that. My father worked until two days before he died at age 76. No one is truly entitled to anything they did not earn. Just because we are a society who chooses to provide some benefits to disabled people is a benefit for them - not an entitlement. With this economy, people should be thankful for what they have and what they get instead of complaining because someone else doesn't give them more.

sweetiepie Sunday, November 8, 2009: 4:02 am

well ukblue, yeah you only get what you paid in for the previous 5 years you worked. well I have worked for 32 years. I know someone who has worked for 50. None of that is factored in. Just the past 5. And some aren't as fortunate to have a cush job to afford them the ability to save for retirement. Every dime goes to survival I know. My own father, which would have been your dads age, worked and planned for his retirement but did not live long enough to collect the ss he paid in for the work he done all his life. Where did his money go? Thankful you say? How is a person supposed to survive on $427 a month? I made darn good money for several years but that is what my figure is for my retirement based on the last 5, not my lifetime work. From the looks of things that will drop because things aren't looking any better in the future. The way the government is spending now don't look like either one of us will be getting anything at all back that we paid in when it comes time for us to retire. All of us are just spitting in the wind. Government wants more and the people get less for what we pay into. So much for serving the people.

ukblue Sunday, November 8, 2009: 9:28 am

sweetiepie, please read my post again. In your original comment you said, "you work all your life to pay into it and get very little back". That is not true. By most estimates, the average person who draws social security gets back every penny they paid in after they draw SS for five years. For example, you work 30 years, you pay in $100 (just for example), you start drawing SS at retirement, you draw for five years, you have your $100 back. So if you live long enough to draw SS for five years, you get back every cent you paid in during your entire working life. You said, "None of that is factored in. Just the past 5." Not true. According to SS website, "Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings." http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10070.html Secondly, social security was never meant to be anyone's sole support. It was only meant to be a supplement to one's retirement. The government supplements your retirement income, the rest is up to you. Your father lived to age 76 and never drew social security? Why not? You said, "And some aren't as fortunate to have a cush job to afford them the ability to save for retirement. Every dime goes to survival I know." I'm aware of that, but that is not my fault or your fault, is it? If they can't live on what they draw, then I'm sorry, but they need to continue to work in order to supplement their income as my father did and as I will do. No where does it say that one must stop working at 62 or 64 or 67. Simply put, the only money the government has is what it takes from workers through taxes. The government cannot give anyone anything without taking it from someone else. And while the government is there to serve the people, the people also have the responsibility to properly serve themselves.

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