For IIOY - Alan Simpson hates old people, too.

[charminglife]

IIOY - I hope I'm remembering correctly that you're the poster who is anti-old people! I think you'll appreciate the letter that Simpson sent to the California Alliance for Retired Americans.


Alan Simpson flips out at Calif. seniors

By PATRICK GAVIN | 5/23/12 10:52 AM EDT

The nice thing about being out of office? You can say whatever you please.

Which is exactly what former Sen. Alan Simpson did in a harsh letter he sent to the California Alliance for Retired Americans and which was obtained by POLITICO:


To Whom It May Concern:

Erskine Bowles and I thoroughly enjoyed our time on the West Coast and received an excellent reception from folks — at least those who are using their heads and have given up using emotion, fear, guilt or racism to juice up their troops. Your little flyer entitled “Bowles! Simpson! Stop using the deficit as a phony excuse to gut our Social Security!” is one of the phoniest excuses for a “flyer” I have ever seen. You use the faces of young people, who are the ones who are going to get gutted while you continue to push out your blather and drivel. My suggestion to you — an honest one — read the damn report. The Moment of Truth — 67 pages, and then tell me if we’re not doing the right thing with Social Security. What a wretched group of seniors you must be to use the faces of the very people that we are trying to save, while the “greedy geezers” like you use them as a tool and a front for your nefarious bunch of crap. You must feel some sense of shame for shoveling out this bulls**t. Read the latest news from the Social Security Trustees. The Social Security System will not “hit the skids” in 2033 instead of 2036. If you can’t understand all of this you need a pane of glass in your naval so you can see out during the day! Read the report. Get back to me. My address is below.

If you don’t read the report, — as Ebenezer Scrooge said in the Christmas Carol, “Haunt me no longer!”

Best regards,

Alan Simpson

The letter, dated April 6 (a CARA representative tells POLITICO that, oddly enough, their California office received it just this week, saying their “is it was either a delivery issue or Sen. Simpson didn’t mail it right away?”) was in reaction to protests by CARA to a West Coast swing by both Simpson and Bowles.

CARA President Nan Brasmer tells POLITICO, in reaction to the letter: ”Alan Simpson’s mean-spirited comments insult the intelligence and dedication of retiree activists who worry about their children and grandchildren’s future. Sen. Simpson sounds an awful lot like Mitt Romney and others who will use the recent Social Security Trustees report as political cover for their radical changes. They would put seniors at risk while enriching Wall Street and the big health insurance companies. For instance, increasing the retirement age - one of their suggestions - would be extremely unfair to workers, particularly those in blue-collar and service sector jobs. And privatizing Social Security would let Wall Street firms profit while gambling workers’ Social Security savings on the roulette wheel of the stock market.”

Read more: www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76673.html#ixzz1vixJPmKD

[Daria Morgandorffer]

[IIOY]

I think I've recruited a fairly large mob of pitchfork-wielding fogey-haters around here but yes, I tend to be the proverbial ringleader.

I've read some angry words from Simpson about older voters and SS so the attitude doesn't surprise me. However, this letter reads like it was written by a tempestuous 20yo. It's quite immature, particularly given that he had to know it would be published. I appreciate his anger - BOY do I appreciate it - but a letter like this does nothing to move the ball down the field.