Easter has a different date every year because it’s based on the moon phases. In 325 CE, Constantine I led a council of Christian bishops who decided that Easter must always be a Sunday to honor the resurrection of Jesus. They also said it would immediately follow, but not land on, the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, which is why the date can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25.
Ninety miles from the South Eastern tip of the United States, Liberty has no stead. In order for Liberty to exist and thrive, Tyranny must be identified, recognized, confronted and extinguished.
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Sunday, April 21, 2019
Happy Easter!
Easter has a different date every year because it’s based on the moon phases. In 325 CE, Constantine I led a council of Christian bishops who decided that Easter must always be a Sunday to honor the resurrection of Jesus. They also said it would immediately follow, but not land on, the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, which is why the date can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25.
The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #598
You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?
It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,
from the beautiful to the repugnant,
from the mysterious to the familiar.
If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,
you could be inspired, you could be appalled.
This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
You have been warned.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
EPIC Act would discontinue pensions for Congress members
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY4) |
Context
Members of Congress who served at least five years are eligible for a pension once they reach a certain age.
As of 2016, 611 retired or defeated members of Congress were collecting pensions. This amounted to $36.1 million in taxpayer money spent per year.
Members elected before 1984 receive an average pension of $74,028. Members elected after 1984, when pension rules changed, receive an average of $41,076.
What the bill does
The End Pensions in Congress (EPIC) Act would do exactly what its name implies.
More accurately, it would end pensions for all future Congress members, as well as any currently serving who have not yet reached the five years of service necessary to merit a pension. Anybody who’s already earned a congressional pension would be grandfathered in.
It was introduced on January 3 as bill number H.R. 191 by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY4).
What supporters say
Supporters argue the bill saves taxpayers money by reducing expenditures that Congress members should be able to accrue themselves through private alternatives.
“Our country is over $21.9 trillion in debt, yet congressmen receive ‘defined benefit’ retirement plans unavailable to most in the private sector,” Rep. Massie wrote in an online post. “If congressmen want to save for retirement, they should do so with 401(k)-type defined contribution plans, rather than rely on taxpayers to take care of them after leaving Congress.”
“To tackle out-of-control federal spending, Congress must lead by example by ending defined-benefit pensions for members.”
What opponents say
Related: Off the Grid with Thomas Massie
Opponents counter that congressional pension spending is already decreasing — by a lot.
Rules regarding congressional pensions changed for members first elected in 1984 and later. For members elected before then, their average pension is $74,028. For members elected after then, their average pension is $41,076, or a -44% decrease.
Let the actuarial tables run their course, so the argument goes, and taxpayers will eventually save an identical -44% without any further changes to federal law necessary.
Odds of passage
The bill has not yet attracted any House cosponsors, even though a previous version introduced in 2015 attracted 13 cosponsors, including one Democrat.
The current version awaits a vote in either the House Administration Committee or House Oversight and Reform Committee.
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