Do the math, SS is an entitlement, you have not paid in nearly as much as you are taking out if you are getting it or will if you are over the age of 55. For us under 55, it will be a huge waste of money we paid into for decades and will get nothing, so YES it currently is an entitlement and YES it needs to be reformed away from the current pyramid scheme it is. The governments own definition of pyramid scheme sums up SS nicely. It started out that 16 workers were paying for every 1 recipient, that number is around 3 workers and dropping fast with the baby boomers retiring, it needs to change, wake up.

Nicksmom, not trying to change your point of view, the term entitlements is part of law and budgets. Entitlement spending is based on law, with increases that are automatic, and not part of normal budgets other than listing what will be spent. The only way entitlement spending can be changed is by changing the current law(s) that set the amounts. If law terminology is the reason people use to vote they really should be more informed.

@ Nicksmom Calling it entitlements vs welfare? That seems like a very petty thing to be outraged about. Also, you're wrong that people just sit on their laurels and feel entitled to something. Everyone is a taxpayer. Even if there are some that do not pay income tax they pay sales tax. Why should people pay into the government and NOT expect a commitment from the government to the small time taxpayers? What SHOULD our tax money go to? War? Big business? Bailouts? Interest on debt? Why not small time families? I would say if anything is "entitled" it is the taxpaying people.

wislady - perhaps the reason is to keep the politicized online readers stirred up enough to cough up payments when the web site switches over to the subscribers-only based model later this year?

The better question....why are there two articles in the Gazette regarding Paul Ryan?

I would ask him why do he & other republicans continue to refer to Medicaid, SSI & SNAP benefits as entitlements? They are social welfare programs, not entitlements that people pay into and therefore have a right to expect something in return. I think this is a big part of the reason he & Romney lost the middle class by touting "entitlement reform" when what they really want is welfare reform. If he wants to stop this entitlement mentality that pervades our country, I think he needs to call the benefits what they are: welfare. When he lumps these in with benefits such as Social Security Retirement / Disability, which workers pay into, I think workers have a right to be outraged at the notion of reform.

"I would like to ask him why he lost the Congressional vote for re election in his own district. Hmmmm....."
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huh?

miltonlib......You had a bill being pushed which requested funding that was 3 times the estimated cost of the entire natural disaster! Every politician should have voted against that bill. Do you think that there should be any accountability as to how the politicians spend out tax dollars?

Seriously, that is the answer.
;-)

Why is it OK to beg for federal money for flooding in his district, and then vote against the emergency money for NY/NJ? The offset excuse is not acceptable now because it's never been used before when RED states needed emergency funds for natural disasters.

I would like to ask him how much his family took from Social Security that apparently made it so unsustainable for the rest of us.

Love those t party Hypocrite comments about profanity and name calling their extreme right wing Ideology. They love to call/refer to decent hard working honest men/ women of labor or any Union for that matter as goons, thugs, lazy ,shiftless ,Communist, Nazi's and then have the audacity to be outraged to be called a name they themselves gave only to find out later that it meant something else

garyprimer
Jan 30, 2013 at 8:12 a.m.

JC, the answer is eight miles east of Jonesburg, Missouri, in 40.72 hours.

WAY FUNNY !!! Good one... :-)

I would like to ask him why he lost the Congressional vote for re election in his own district.
Hmmmm.....

JC, the answer is eight miles east of Jonesburg, Missouri, in 40.72 hours.

I would ask him, once again, when will he put forth term limit legislation for elected and appointed federal positions.

If train A leaves New York, traveling at 25 miles per hour, and train B leaves Los Angeles, traveling at 35 miles an hour...

i would like to know how he received his nickname " LYIN RYAN"

When he was going to cut his own wages

I would ask him ,when he would like to go bow hunting next season.

Northman, I may have an answer as to why NVgrf’s vile comments are not deleted, which by the way is not the first time he has used such hate speech on this site. From what I can tell it is like any minority group that is allowed to use ‘slurs’ when they are part of that group, for example a black guy can say the ‘n-word’ and ‘get away’ with it. So in this case NVgrf using the term Teabaggers and getting a pass leads me to believe that he is not a member of the Tea Party political organization but more likely a participant in the activity he so often promotes. I hope this clears up any confusion.

I would ask him why does the House continue to raise the debt ceiling? We are a nation in deep debt and the House continues to raise the ceiling. Maybe a ceiling should be a ceiling. I blame the House for the huge $16.5 trillion debt we have because THEY keep raising the ceiling - or should we call it a 'floor'.

How about ask: What can I do for my country, not what my country can do for me.

I would ask how he can possibly call himself a fiscal conservative looking at his voting record (TARP, bailouts, etc) and his last proposed budget which ran a deficit only $100 billion less than Obama's proposed budget?

I would ask and then advise against a 2016 National Presidency campaign. Hillary Clinton will stomp a mudhole in his arse.
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He really needed to publicly distance himself from Mitt Romney in the waning days of their campaign. At first I was excited about his potential vice-presidency and then Mitt kept talking.
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As an independent sickened by what our contry has become, I would ask him for a sit down meeting so I could pick his mind a little. He is the most intriguing local politician now that Joe Knilan's is in somebodies else's basement in Appleton or (insert) other last bastion of conservative fortitude.
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How about it Mr. Ryan, a sit down meeting with a local nobody awaiting American Revolution v2.0?

A politician give a straight answer? Surely you've got to be kidding!

I'd like to ask the same question of every elected official. I realize that none of them would give an honest answer, but here goes:
Which group of citizens are you most closely representing, your political party or the citizens of your district?
With a followup - Can you divorce your vote from that of your party leadership when the two groups hold conflicting views?