Sun, 13 Mar 2005
Join a church. Separate from state.
While doing my taxes this year, I discovered IRS Form 4029 which allows
an individual to opt out of social security and medicare. To do so, you must
be conscientiously opposed to accepting benefits of any private or public
insurance that makes payments in the event of death, disability, old age, or
retirement; or makes payments for the cost of medical care; or provides
services for medical care. While I am conscientiously opposed to public
insurance, I have no objections to private insurance. Of course, there are a
couple other stipulations. You must also join a collectivist organization with
a belief in the supernatural which has been in existance since at least 1950.
Individuals who wish to be self-sufficient or participate in private insurance
programs rather than be part of the state's welfare system are unable to do so.
I find this to be egregious. I have contact my elected representatives in
Congress to let them know how I feel, but I'm not expecting much considering
that both Senators Boxer and Feinstein have petitions on their home
pages to preserve social security as is.
Here's the short note I sent to Congressman Sherman and the Senators,
and the non-responsive form letter response from Ms. Boxer.
Congressman Sherman,
As President Bush and Congress are currently working on the reform of Social
Security, I would like to propose that one of the reforms include the ability
of citizens to opt out of participation in the Social Security and Medicare
insurance programs.
Being a responsible individual, I plan to save enough money during my
productive years to fund my retirement until death. I am conscientiously
opposed to accepting welfare from the state and would be happy to waive all
rights to Social Security benefits in return for not being required to
contribute to the program. Such an option is available to members of certain
religious organizations, and I would appreciate your support in ending such
unconstitutional discrimination.
Thank you for you time and I would be delighted to hear your thoughts on the
issue.
Sincerely,
Christian Warden
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 09:21:31 -0500
From: senator@boxer.senate.gov
To: cwarden@xerus.org
Subject: Responding to your message
March 4, 2005
Mr. Christian Warden
18531 Prairie Street, Apartment 214
Northridge, California 91324-3156
Dear Mr. Warden:
Thank you for writing to express your concerns about President Bush's
plan to partially privatize Social Security. I appreciate hearing from
you.
Social Security is a crucial insurance program and an indispensable
safety net for our people. It has been enormously successful. Before
Social Security, over half of all seniors were poor. Today, 10 percent
live in poverty. That is still too many, and we want to take care of that.
What we do not want to do is go back to the days when 50 percent of our
seniors were living in poverty.
Under the President's plan, Social Security benefits would be cut by
45 percent. The average yearly payment would be only $5,700, which is 35
percent below the poverty line. That would be a tragic reversal of fortune
for our people.
Certainly we know that Social Security needs periodic adjustments.
However, President Bush is misleading the American people by calling this a
"crisis." According to the Social Security Trustees, there is enough money
to pay full benefits until 2042. And according to the Congressional Budget
Office, there is enough money to pay full benefits until 2052.
Now more than ever -- as we are faced with an aging population, the
imminent retirement of the baby boom generation, the costs of the war on
terrorism, 40 million Americans without healthcare, and a ballooning budget
deficit of well over $400 billion -- we cannot afford to divert needed
funds away from an already stressed Social Security system. ^L
This is too much of a risk to take with funds that so many workers
are counting on for their retirement. Privatization would also impact
people with disabilities, survivors of deceased workers, and 3
million children who depend on Social Security benefits. I feel
strongly that we should not weaken Social Security or compromise its
financial condition. Rest assured, I am committed to preserving the
integrity of Social Security for generations to come. And it is not
difficult to solve this challenge, just as we did in 1983.
Again, thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns. Please
continue to keep me informed about the issues that matter to you.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Disclaimer: As a child, my mother received welfare. And while it
allowed her to spend time raising me, given the choice, I would not want to be
a burden on my neighbors.
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