Contributor Total

Koch Industries $50,750
Boeing Co $12,000
Hawker Beechcraft Inc $11,750
Radiance Technologies $11,100
Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assn $10,000
Caterpillar Inc $10,000
Deere & Co $10,000
Hawker Beechcraf Inc $10,000
Orbital Sciences Corp $10,000
Textron Inc $10,000
Raytheon Co $9,500
AT&T Inc $9,400
American Bankers Assn $9,000
National Rifle Assn $8,950
Friends of Phil Gramm $8,500
United Technologies $8,000
Berexco Inc $7,600
Air Line Pilots Assn $7,500
Lockheed Martin $7,500
PMA Group $7,250

Guess what liberals? If you are now 65, and had invested in the stock market over the last 10 years, you would still show a profit, not a loss.

Yes, your account value may be down, if you have been putting in $200 or so a month. However, the total value of your account will STILL be higher than the sum total of your investments.

Now, I ask you to calculate a rate of return on your projected Social Security income, if you are turning 65 this year. Any guesses what that “rate of return” might be? It is rather dismal.

On top of this fact, remember that when you die, if your kids are grown, you have NOTHING to leave to anyone.

Social Security income is money you can not “cash out” in advance, if you need it.

Social Security does NOT pass to your heirs.

And, EVEN TODAY, the Stock market has been a better LONG TERM investment than Social Security.

Actually, an African American male probably pays around $160,000.00 MORE into Social Security than he will get out of the system, in his LIFETIME!:

“January 15, 1998
Social Security’s Rate of Return
by William W. Beach and Gareth E. Davis
Center for Data Analysis Report #98-01

What can Americans expect in future Social Security retirement benefits? A Heritage Foundation study reveals that the Social Security system’s rate of return for most Americans will be vastly inferior to what they could expect from placing their payroll taxes in even the most conservative private investments. For the low-income African-American male age 38 or younger, the news is particularly grim: He is likely to pay more into the Social Security system than he can ever expect to receive in benefits after inflation and taxes. Staying in the current system will likely cost him up to $160,000 in lifetime income in 1997 dollars.

If Americans were allowed to direct their payroll taxes into safe investment accounts similar to 401(k) plans, or even super-safe U.S. Treasury bills, they would accumulate far more money in savings for their retirement years than they are ever likely to receive from Social Security. For example:

Social Security pays a very low rate of return for two-income households with children. Social Security’s inflation-adjusted rate of return is only 1.23 percent for an average household of two 30-year-old earners with children in which each parent made just under $26,000 in 1996.1 Such couples will pay a total of about $320,000 in Social Security taxes over their lifetime (including employer payments) and can expect to receive benefits of about $450,000 (in 1997 dollars, before applicable taxes) after retiring at age 67, the retirement age when they are eligible for full Social Security Old-Age benefits.2 Had they placed that same amount of lifetime employee and employer tax contributions into conservative tax-deferred IRA-type investments-such as a mutual fund composed of 50 percent U.S. government Treasury bills and 50 percent equities-they could expect a real rate of return of over 5 percent per year prior to the payment of taxes after retirement. In this latter case, the total amount of income accumulated by retirement would equal approximately $975,000 (in 1997 dollars, before applicable taxes).

The rate of return for some ethnic minorities is negative. Low-income, single African-American males born after 1959 face a negative real rate of return from Social Security. For every dollar he has paid into Social Security, a low-income, single African-American male in his mid-20s who earned about 50 percent of the average wage, or $12,862, in 1996 can expect to get back less than 88 cents. This negative rate of return translates into lifetime cash losses of $13,377 (in 1997 dollars) on the taxes paid by the employer and employee.”

http://www.heritage.org/Research/SocialSecurity/CDA98-01.cfm

Yes, the above is a 10 year old study, but life expectancy has not gone up that much in the last 10 years!
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I saw Todd Tiahrt at the Fireman’s memorial service, today, he was the keynote speaker, introduced by Fire Chief Ron Blackwell. Tiahrt did a great job!

What’s the matter with Kansas?

A coin flip?

Should our “strong advocates in Congress” Patsy Roberts and Tanker Todd have enough seniority and savvy and experience and clout in Washington to give the largest employer in their state at least maybe a 60-40 chance against the French?

Kansans vote Robo-Republican, without considering in the least the consequences of their vote. The twice-born have been voting for candidates who’ve promised a repeal of Roe v. Wade for 35 years now and what’s it got them? Illegal Abortion Advocates had 12 years of congressional majorities and eight years of Shrub and have nothing to show for their loyalty.

For all the tax-cut rhetoric from the Republic Party, I seem to pay more every year on April 15th. Who ya gonna believe? The Limbaugh-tomized Masses or your lyin’ eyes as you sign your income tax return?

The tanker deal isn’t an earmark. It isn’t pork-barrel. It goes to the core of America being the arsenal for democracy as its been since World War II. And the Republic Party of Kansas (CONsas?) keeps returning Patsy to the Senate and lets Tiahrt hang around the House (its a family tradition) and gets a coin flip for perhaps the most significant economic and employment issue for the state in memory.

It boggles the mind.