"Lott - O" Security

Senator Trent Lott is back again with his weekly column plugging the President's Social Security Plan. Do you notice how Conservatives (his label) talk down to us common folks? Since we apparently missed the point of his first article in February, he tries a new approach. He compares Social Security to an old tractor using a lot of oil. I can picture 'Ol Trent in his coveralls and straw hat standing by a tractor with a can of oil (imported oil of course, which is now about $3 a quart) in his hand wondering which end of the tractor the oil goes. In his other hand is perhaps a cell phone where he is talking to President George to get instructions on how to put the oil in the tractor. President George is no help because he asks 'Ol Trent, "What oil?"

Of course, Mr. Lott knows this tractor has been running along fine for years and feels its time for an overhaul. His idea of overhaul is to rip out some parts and add some more parts, hopefully parts that don't require oil. By doing so, he can cut back on the acreage the tractor can cover and use less oil. Since he has already spent last year's crop allotment, he discovers that he can charge the repairs on a credit card. An " Overhaul now Pay later" scheme. He can even pass the tractor, and the credit card debt along to his heirs. The kids are elated that they got the tractor, it's just the $13 Trillion credit card debt that's got them confused.

Senator Lott still offers no explanation of how the private accounts work or how he proposes to pay for them. He wants us to believe that we would have the same benefits that Senators and government workers have in their retirement plan. We should all be so lucky as to have the Senate retirement plan, and the ThriftPlan is the same as a 401 (k). He leaves out the part that in addition to those government plans, yep, you guessed it they also get a social security check. You know, if he really cared about us and the 45 million Americans without health insurance, he would give us the same health plan the Senators get.

The Senator from Lockheed-Martin is not concerned about your or my social security. He feels that with an election coming up he can campaign on "no new taxes", but the debt he and his congressional buddies continue to pile up are future taxes for our children and grandchildren. With his plan we would be better off taking the money and buying lottery tickets in Tennessee or Louisiana. If you get lucky and win the Powerball, you won't need Social Security.

Drop 'Ol Trent a line and tell him how you feel, agree or not. Good luck on getting a reply from "our Senator." Of course, it probably helps if you send in a donation.