Ex-Lawmakers Take Home Generous Pensions

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle's 26-year political career ended with defeat in the November elections, but he did take home a consolation prize: a pension that in its first year will total $121,233.

The 57-year old South Dakotan can also look forward to receiving about $5 million in pension benefits over his expected lifetime for his service in the House and Senate, according to the National Taxpayers Union.
...snipping- examples of many other's given...
By contrast, about half of American retirees aged 55 and older receive pensions, with retirees in the 55-64 age group getting slightly more than $1,000 a month, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute.

NTU spokesman Pete Sepp, citing recent Congressional Research Service figures, said that in 2002 congressional pensions cost taxpayers some $22 million a year, with 340 retirees under the pre-1984 system getting an average $56,000 and 71 under the new plan receiving about $42,000.

"The Republican revolution of 1994 was the last time we heard any serious talk of reforming the congressional pension system," Sepp said. "This issue may rear its politically inconvenient head when Congress begins discussing Social Security reform," he said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-congress-pensions,0,2044853.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

Even if you've paid for it! That overgenerous $1,200 a month many of you are getting is just too much for the federal budget to handle! Don't you know there's a war on? And Halliburton's contracts gots to be paid.

Are you some sort of rable-rouser, gratuitous? The next thing you'll be demanding is a Republic. Jeez! You're in BushAmerica, for god's sake. Get with the message.

I mean, "me"? Not at all. No siree bob! Mr. Toe-The-Line, that's me! "Don't rock the boat" is my watchword and motto.

I'm glad, real glad, that after a career of toadying to the fascisti, Tom Daschle gets thousands and thousands of dollars a month for doing the same thing any other profoundly disabled person is able to do.

to collect any of it.

That's one change that desperately needs to be made. Don't let these platinum parachutes for our "elected servants" kick in until those old boys actually get to be retirement age.

Also, why not just make those pensions equal to what they'll get from social security? Boy, would THAT fix the system fast, and NOT with throwing it into the stock market and slashing benefits.

Also, why not have them live on the median wage during their term in office? Those fat salaries and automatic pay raises could be kept in trust to be used should they be loath to work after their defeat. Just think of what a different country we might enjoy!

I'm sick of treating these old boys like they're sultans. They're not.

For folks younger than 57 or 58, full benefits start at age 67. (For me, it's 66.)

Lawmakers have ALWAYS been very generous to themselves.

The bigger the government gets the more the taxpayers will have to foot the bills.

Why is it that every one of these ex-lawmaker, pensions too high, abusing the system stories seems to focus on a Dem? Are you trying to tell me that the Rethugs are immune to abusing the system, immune from scrutiny or that this is a "Dem disease"? I saw so many of this type of trash during 2001 on WJC that I did a little digging back then and found that what he (and all the Dems cited in these "exposes") may or may not be abusing their privileges, but that it is someting much more widespread in reThug circles than is ever reported.

Remember GHW & Barbar couldn't have the Secret Service living in the same house, or even same property as them? I didn't hear much screaming about that, but let WJC lease space to the Secret Service for quartering their agents, and that's abuse.. :wtf:

Phil Gramm hauled away with him.

:grr:

tried to find anything on that - nary a word

:grr: