Social Security payments may be skipped in August--and who knows for how long?

Ah, but not to worry -- the rich won't have to scramble because of it. No, only the middle class and poor--the sick, disabled and the elderly--will suffer. But, you know, as a recent article by Neal Boortz, a wealthy Republican Texan tells us, it's their own fault they don't have jobs or money to pay their bills. It's their own fault that they don't have health care. After all, according to Mr. Boortz, health care is not a "right" -- it's something you earn (if you can get a job to replace the one the rich corporatists took overseas--to avoid paying decent salaries to the workers). And if you find yourself without any way to pay your bills next month, because your Social Security check didn't arrive, well--that's your fault, too. And it's your fault if you were born into a family of poor, hard-scrabble folks -- who, despite being good church-going Christians, can't ever seem to make enough to get by, because jobs keep getting taken away, companies keep closing down, and the workers are left without replacement jobs. It's your fault if you worked hard but couldn't get ahead because your job disappeared right out from under you when the company took its employment to foreign lands. That's your fault and you're stuck with it--and you shouldn't expect any sympathy or help from Neal Boortz or the government. This Texan (such a high and mighty man--a lawyer who's made plenty of $$ in the world) says there is no such thing as good luck or bad luck. You make your own luck. Here are his words: You know the [liberal] mantra: You have the right to a job. The right to a place to live. The right to a living wage. The right to health care. The right to an education. You probably even have your own pet right - the right to a Beemer for instance, or the right to have someone else provide for that child you plan on downloading in a year or so. (how quickly he leaps to these accusations, exposing his prejudices.) Forget it. Forget those rights! I'll tell you what your rights are. You have a right to live free, and to the results of 60% -75% of your labor. I'll also tell you have no right to any portion of the life or labor of another. (What about the bailouts, Mr. Boortz? Did the corporations have a right to our tax dollars, earned by the sweat of our brows?)

I guess he thinks George W. Bush has made his way through the world by his own labor. A man who, in his entire life, has never done any hard work or brought any endeavor to successful fruition (including the Presidency in which he brought our country to its knees) -- a man who lost money in everything he undertook -- a failure who didn't even complete his military service and went AWOL without penalty, because he happened to be born a "Bush", a member of the "elite" -- A man thought of as a fool by his own father -- this is the kind of man to revere, according to this Texas lawyer. As for those who have lost their jobs because their companies took the jobs to other countries, well...it's their fault that they don't have jobs. It's their fault that they can't pay for health care for their families. It's their fault that they can't pay the rent and can't buy the food, even though they pound the pavement every day looking for work. Yep, as the millionaire Republican Texas lawyer tells us, "It's all your fault." And it will be our fault, too, if we don't get Social Security checks in August. So shut your mouth and don't complain. That's the advice from Neal Boortz. I wonder what Mr. Boortz thought about the bailout of the wealthy by our tax dollars--I'll bet he didn't think those Wall St. corporatists were at fault, and that it was "just and right" for all of us to bail them out. He probably thinks it's "just and right" for those very same bailed-out elite to withhold the money from the middle class now by refusing us loans and jobs, while they use that bail-out money to enrich themselves even more.

Following is an article in today's news that tells all about what we are facing because of right-wing greed and rigidity that never allows for compassion or empathy -- or practical common sense. Their hatred of Obama, based on his color and their false belief that he is a Muslim and not a good "Christian" like themselves, has caused them to force their country to the brink --and bring untold suffering to their fellow man. Ah, but they proclaim themselves to be "good Christians." I wonder, though, if the compassionate, loving Jesus I read about in the Bible would recognize them as his own. Mr. Boortz and his admirers sound more to me like the Pharisees he roundly criticized. (Luke 18:9-14) And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

DELAYED SOCIAL SECURITY MAY STOP DEFAULT BUT WOULD CAUSE DISASTER
As the Treasury Department prepares to hit the swiftly-approaching debt limit with no agreement to lift it in sight, fears are growing that the government might opt to skip the next round of Social Security payments.

Experts warn that the program is such a vital source of support for so many low-income and elderly Americans that even one delayed payment could trigger a domino effect, sending millions of households into delinquency on a broad range of bills.

"What we are talking about here," said Joan Entmacher, vice president for family economic security at the National Women's Law Center, "is not the financial markets -- not that they are not important -- but the very ability of millions of Americans to buy food, pay their utility bills, their rent or mortgage and to generally function."

If Social Security payments don't come, Entmacher said, "there are a whole series of very serious, deeply frightening consequences that could, and very likely would, follow."

There are about 54.8 million Americans who receive some form of Social Security benefits each month, according to government data (see Table 2). Most payments are made to retirees, disabled individuals and certain dependent children and adults. The next monthly payment is due Aug. 3. Another 15 million Americans are also due veterans' benefits, federal or postal employee retirement benefits and other payments on that date.

For a substantial share of the people who receive Social Security benefits, that income is essential. About 40 percent of all unmarried individuals who receive social security benefits rely on the program for at least 90 percent of their income, the Social Security Administration's inspector general found in a November 2010 report. About 90 percent of women over age 80 derive nearly all of their income from Social Security benefits.

Losing that income could prove disastrous. Households that don't pay utility bills eventually face shut off. Banks can charge account overdraft fees. And creditors also generally charge late fees for overdue payments. Credit card companies can raise a customer's interest rate due to overdue bills.