Being a Congressman has got to be the best gig in town if you can manage to get one for yourself. Because under normal circumstances wouldn't you think that someone whose career was pretty much in tatters and having a pregnant wife, would be facing somewhat of a personal financial crisis. Ah, but such is not the case if your fortunate enough to be a member of Congress, because our favorite serial texter, Anthony Weiner, will still have his congressional pension to fall back on. And it’s quite an impressive pension that many out there in the rest of America would love to have. Because after serving just 12 years in Congress, Weiner’s benefits could garner for him a whopping $1.2 million, at least so says The Wall Street Journal. And he doesn’t even have to worry if the Stock Market keeps dropping. Weiner was on the standard congressional salary of $174,000 before finally announcing his resignation on Thursday, three weeks into his rather humiliating Twitter sexting scandal. He was covered under the Federal Employee Retirement System, to which he contributed less than 1 percent of his pay. Yep, that's less than 1 percent.
The Journal’s Smart Money section says the 46-year-old New York former congressman essentially has two choices regarding choosing payments he wishes to receive. He could either take discounted payments of around $25,000 a year starting when he turns 56 in 2020 or he could choose to wait another six years and get around $35,000 a year. However, the National Taxpayers Union has came up with even higher figures because it took into account Weiner’s time spent as a congressional staffer to then-Rep. Chuckie Schumer in the 1980s and early ’90s. It says he would get $32,356 at 56 and as much as $46,224 if he waited. Taxpayers Union Executive Vice President Pete Sepp has said that those figures are based on Weiner’s making the highest contributions throughout his congressional career. What the heck is wrong with this picture? The sad truth here is that we're getting bilked by these people who claim to be pubic servants when they're no such thing. Their primary objective, once the get into office, is to acquire as much personal wealth for themselves as possible so that they can then retire and live in the lap of luxury at taxpayer expense. So we the taxpayers then have the burden of not only trying to fund our own retirements, but those of guys like Weiner as well.
“For American taxpayers, the scandal may have only just begun,” said Sepp, who pointed out that legislation which Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois recently introduced proposes expanding the number of "crimes" that would debar members of Congress from receiving their pensions would not catch Weiner. What? This reeks of blatant cronyism and provides further proof that of these guys are in it together, Republicans and Democrats alike. It's just one more example of how these people view the rules as simply not applying to them. They can do any number of things that would land me behind bars and walk away free as I bird and in full possession of all their benefits. If someone in Congress commits a crime, any crime, that should not only automatically remove them from their powerful position, it should also disqualify them from having the ability to receive these exorbitant pensions. I served 24 years in the Navy before retiring as an E7 and I get roughly $2,000 a month. Had I committed some act similar to what the congressman's offense, I would have been booted out immediately, and be getting zip point nothin in the way of any pension. So what makes these clowns like Weiner so special?
Weiner would have been contributing less than $200 a month to his pension, Sepp said. The Journal compares Weiner’s $1.2 million figure with a private-sector employee who put $1,000 a month into a 401(k) plan and received a $3,000 matching contribution from his employer over the same period. Even if the stock market does well, he could expect to have only $231,000, less than a fifth of what Weiner is entitled to. Making it even more one-sided, any inflation would eat into the private-sector pension, while Weiner’s and others under the federal system adjust automatically to cost-of-living increases. The Journal further points out that Weiner also has a stock portfolio worth approximately $300,000 and a pension due from his "six-year" stint on New York City Council. “The point here isn't that politicians don't deserve decent retirement plans. The last thing America needs is financially insecure lawmakers,” the Journal reports. “But Weiner is getting the equivalent of a $1.3 million exit payment after serving just 12 years on the job. “Now that's worth tweeting about.” Crime may not pay, but apparently getting caught in inappropriate behavior certainly does, at least for some.
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