Jimmy Carter in Plains Book Endorsement - by Betty Pope

How do you capture a magical time in your life? This book of photographs and descriptions are evidence of Jimmy Carter's hometown and campaign for President of our USA.  Your book gives a true feeling of Plains, then and now.  People can experience the small town life and "down to earth" people who brought forth a awesome welcome to visitors then , now and forever.

I really enjoyed the revisit to the past!  Unforgettable.

- Betty Pope Founding member of the Carter Peanut Brigade

solving social security

There are many ways to fix this program so that many will benefit from the positive aspects of it's overall coverage. These solutions, like the problems that have forced them to slowly be required tend to be very easy. It is merely the political will or lack there of that forces this issue to become the third rail of American politics. Will actually it's the third rail of Democratic Politics, it's fifty pounds of red meat to say "First thing I'll do it cut social security and give you your money back" in Republican primaries.  One possible solution is a revenue increase rather than a reduction of benefits.  Also an increase in the age of retirees receiving social security would not be totally outside of the realm of possibilities in the near future. BabyBoomers after all live longer than their parents and the life expectancy of both generation X and the echo generation is projected to be even longer.
According to the fix social security game, an increase of taxs on the top earners and the removal of the salary cap, would actually solve many of the program's current problems.  But, the game also warns the viewer that even then the program will need to be fine tuned. This can prove to be fighting words to generation of policy makers hows only ways of dealings with a problem in a entitlement program is to either either hid under the covers or look towards destruction of  that program as the only possible solution.
At this moment for example the congress is fighting over the long term assisted care insurance act. All day long they have argued over the class Act and have come up with one of two solutions.
1. leave it alone because, it can not be currently fixed given the current political climate, and because it is still financially secure (it will be till 2032).
 2. try and repeal it because it is a part of  "ObamaCare" and will be a moral victory to a congressional majority with an approval rating of minus 47.
The facts are these, a gradual increase of the retirement age for those born after 2024, would improve social security. Progressive indexing of taxs to reduce benefits of those that make over two million dollars a year or above would improve the system.  These will not be introduced to the floor of the U.S. house of representatives till rome burns to the ground.
There have ofcourse been those that wished to solve this completely solvable issue of our time.  President Bush 43 wanted to put benefits in PRA's back in 2005. It was based on the believe that by 2017 social security would start paying out more than it was taking in. (Social security reform center).  President Bush's idea would have been a wonderful way to fix social security, just as long as there would never be a recession and the housing market remained strong.
Even with the weak economy as it is, those that face issues such as long term care, and home healthcare aid, have managed to remain above water due to entitlement programs. (Kurtzeleben, 2011). The Census Bureau has reported that nearly 14 million seniors would be bankrupt if it were not for entitlements like social security,medicare, and medicaid. (Kurtzelben,2011). This seems pretty understandable when you the average retirement house cost about 17 thousand dollars a year.
The constitution calls for provisions to be made to protect the common welfare. It is not a ponzi scheme, but a support system for unforseen costs of living concerns. The solutions mentioned above can close the social security gaps. By closing the Payroll cap, it would mean a few paying more some the same benefits as all of us, but it would mean that one indidvual who makes 200,000 dollars a year for twenty years could pay a bit more. So that 200,000 people that make 37 thousand dollars a year can benefit from social security.
Even the Heritage Foundation's flat social security plan has cuts in benefits for those that are in the top 9 percent. (Savingthedream.org). It also calls for a 401k style of supplement plan, which does nothing to stop people currently retired from cashing it out as of the close of business yesterday. But, it seems like a good idea for future retirees. It it goes along with a reformed version of Social security and doesn't slowly substitute the program as a whole(Savingthedream.org).
According to NPR.org all solutions of fixing social security come down to three options. 1. more tax revenue, 2. Less benefits, 3. a mix of both. Sociological ideals back up taxes on the top earners. That social security now serving as a life blood to so many retired Americans, it seems only natural for the program to be saved due to the efforts of those that don't really need it.  It alone takes political will to actively solve this tragically solvable issue.


Resources
1. Social Security Reform Center.
Retrieved from : http://socialsecurityreform.org/fastfacts/index.cfm
2. Kurtzelben, Danielle. ( September 15, 2011). "5 Ways to Reform Social Security"
Retrieved from : http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/09/15/5-ways-to-reform-social-security
3. Heritage Foundation "Saving the Dream"
Retrieved from : http://savingthedream.org/what-it-covers/social-security/
4. Horsley, Scott. (June 5, 2009). " Fixing Social Security: A Solvable Problem"
Retrieved from : http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104958835
5. Hart-Landsberg, Martin. ( August 11, 2011). "SOCIAL SECURITY IS IN DANGER"
Retrieved from : http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/08/11/social-security-is-in-danger/

Jimmy Carter Profile 1976

After two terms in the state senate and one failed attempt, Carter would win the Governorship of Georgia in 1970 following a four year campaign effort that began immediately after his 1966 defeat. His success on this second campaign was largely due to his efforts to win over conservative Democrats and portraying himself as a common peanut farmer. Billy Carter had been in charge of the family business for the past six years, since Jimmy’s election to the governorship. He also purchased the local service station from owner, Mill Jennings. It would become a popular gathering place for the national press and local barbecues. It was also the first place local wives came to look for their husbands after work. During the first three months of the campaign, the entire Carter family which included his wife Rosalynn, their three sons, their wives, and Carter’s mother and siblings, traveled to forty different states, cultivating and nurturing support among the state’s press, unions, and party structure. In these early days, it was not uncommon for a potential Carter supporter to be showered by personal phone calls and hand written letters from both Carters. On December 12th 1974, Jimmy Carter officially declared his candidacy for the presidency. The determination of this one man and the devoted support of his hometown didn’t seem to sway many people early on. “Jimmy is running for what?” was a popular headline in the Atlanta Constitution and he is still the only modern president whose announcement wasn’t preserved on film for posterity. This was due to the conviction by many that he would never win. 

As the Carter presidency began to look like a serious possibility, the town’s fathers started to think hard about the community’s future. Even in the fall of 1976, there was talk of turning much of the town into a national park. While some of the more ambitious schemes and plots unraveled, the idea of preserving key structures of the town as a park continued to flourish. The start of Carter’s campaign was marked by loneliness. No reporters followed him as he made the sometimes embarrassing journey across Iowa and New Hampshire asking for votes. With a stack of green and white brochures in hand, Carter stopped people on the street and said with a smile, “Hello, my name is Jimmy Carter and I’m going to be your next president.”One resident remembered it as “waking up to find your home in the middle of a world’s fair.” Before, it wasn’t uncommon to see local women turning up at the business district of the town in curls or without makeup. After the frequent and prolonged national exposure the town was receiving, they wouldn’t dare step foot there without full makeup and hair, because they would most likely end up on the evening news.

My interview with Vice President Walter Mondale

Question one Do you believe there is a generational decline instead of a national decline that has resulted from the political dominance of the baby boomer generation.            

 I do not.  I think there is, and  has been, an ascending scale of harsh politicalIdeology leading to  destructive  obstructionism.   In the remarkable work of Ted Mann and Norman Ornstein, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks,  they conclude that the republican party has become an outlier party denying science, the public process, and compromise leading the public paralysis.

 Question two What can a person do to combat reactionary politics Good people can do a lot to promote reform.  Get involved in politics or in one of many other ways that can influence  us toward a more positive outcome, including in discussion with your family and friends.

 Question three Do you think there is a national need for a moral rather then political ideology .            
 I think they go together:  good politics is in large measure also a reflection of the ethical and moral

Question four Why is there such a lack of willingness in public officials to deal with the dominating issues of the day.   Many good people are trying but some are paralyzing our public process, By obstruction and delay .  Thus a minority has been able to block progress across the board.  I’ve never seen it like this.  This is not politics as usual.

Question five What can a typical person do to help restore faith in government.

I’ve tried to answer this above. Jump in, for the right reasons, and make a difference.Cynicism is a great cop-out.  You can congratulate yourself by talking about how bad it is  and hopeless it is and then go home a stay uninvolved.  You can feel self-satisfied and superior, but the bottom line is that this only encourages obstructionists to believe that their strategy is working.