Dear Ed -

If you want a pension scandal, look no further than our military retirees.

At the end of the 1st Gulf War, the bean counters slipped in a cap on military retiree pay that capped COLA adjustments at 1% BELOW COLA.

Their shills lied that the few dollars a year would mean little, but they didn't tell about compound interest.

I took the early retirement at 17 1/2 years as an Air Force Major. I went back to school on my G.I. bill finishing with a Ph.D. in American Studies.

I worked modest, minimum wage jobs to fund my studies, and saved every penny I could.

Over the years since retirement, I have finally admitted that the PTSD/MST I developed, as a result of being one of the first female line officers (ROTC), means I will probably never be able to hold a regular job. (I trigger a lot.)

Because Congress argued that my military pension would be supplemented by post-military employment, they assumed I would have a second pension to augment my rapidly shrinking military pension.

They were wrong.

When I retired in 1994, my retirement pay was about $23,000, including Veteran's Disability pay.

Today, my retirement pay is about $23,000, including Veteran's Disability.

They turned down my VA request for disability for PTSD/MST.

These are the same Republican 'conservative' legislators who cut troop support to the bone.

My house in New Orleans has gone into into foreclosure, so I declared bankruptcy so I wouldn't be homeless.

. I have successfully applied for Food Stamps. Emergency foodstamps, (I hope) since I can't pay my house note and insurance, and the bankruptcy note and utilities and eat or pay for meds for my musician husband. Who was just diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Cutting union pensions is killing our economy. Cutting military retiree pensions by stealth is betraying the people who sacrificed to serve America.

The loss of real pensions is destroying our people and our country.

I just want to say Ed that your is the first I turn to on my laptop to see the latest from the msnbc tv team, THE FIRST.

There is no one who matches your passion and eloquence. You really are one of a kind.

There are good commentators but the thing I think that separates you from the rest, is that with them it is another story, no matter how well told, but with you, your comments seem to spring from deep seated convictions. It's a difference between night and day.

Please keep up the good work. I don't know what the viewing public would do without you.

keep up the great work ed. you seem to be the lone voice in a story that everyone in corporate media ignores.

it's time the white male working class in america abandon the conservatives, or republicans, or tea party, or whatever it is they call themselves these days. they are simply wrecking the economy with trickle down economics, shipping your good paying jobs overseas, and replacing them with low paying, no benefit jobs.

it is republicans who are responsible for (strategically) wrecking the economy and government. phase two of this anti-american worker agenda is to blame the economy on solvent "entitlements" YOU spent a lifetime paying in to. social security, medicare, pensions... they want it all.

the end result of this republican america? a banana republic of robber barons and the rest of us squeezed into a powerless underprivileged majority.

you got that america? they """STOLE""" your money from your solvent benefits that you paid in to, and they now say "we" are broke and "you" need to give up everything else.

but that's not all... they then extend an 80 billion dollar a year tax cut to the top 2%. they gave trillions in 0% loans to very corporations who caused the crash. without accountability, (remember all the obscene bonuses?) and... they continue to support corporate off shore accounts that steal billions more from your benefits, and... they now are in the process of lowering a corporate tax rate that few even pay.

but they say "we" are broke.

got that? they steal from the middle class and poor, and give it all to the rich who buy them. have you woke up yet?

Ed:

Thanks for getting the IAFF President on the air and getting the message out about the GOP attack on America's bravest, their families and their financial futures.

NYmiddleclassfirefighter

Thanks Ed for all the hard work you do and for standing up for the middle class workers rights. The left is making all union workers out as the “evil villains of the world” and we are the ones destroying our country.

It’s about time someone is out there telling the truth!

Keep it up Ed….

Thank you Ed for telling the truth about how republicans are trying to force public sector employees to lose their pensions. It's clear that the GOP (a.k.a. 'The party of the wealthiest 2% of Americans') wants nothing more than to get their greedy hands on this pension money so that it can be 'invested' in the pockets of wealthy corporate executives. As an F.D.N.Y. Firefighter who was forced to retire after 9/11 due to injuries and illness that resulted from my service at the World Trade Center, I am appalled at how republicans have targeted and attacked the pensions of our Nation's Firefighters, E.M.T.'s and Police Officers. Thank you so much for standing up and being a voice of opposition to the already too rich GOP / CEO's.

Thank you Ed for telling the truth. Recently I retired as a Fire Captain for the city of Newark, N.J. 40 years of my life was spent on this department, most of them in busy fire compaines . I want someone to tell me that I don't deserve what I should get for my pension. The companies I worked in did an average of 3500 calls a year. I have to sit here and get bashed from people that have no idea what great men do in this type of occupation. Governor Christy started a year ago to turn the public on us and did a good job doing it. Insurance companies pay for buildings that get burned down, but insurance companies and governors are not going to crawl on their belly, inside a building, to save a life . Firefighters are special people , don't degrade us, I KNOW, I did it for 40 years. We deserve what we get!

Thanks for you support Ed! I put my life on the line everyday for the people in my community not because I have to but because I want to. I miss holidays, birthdays and special family events. All I ask in return is to be treated fairly. Its about time the goverment treats military cops and fireman with respect, we are there when they need us most, be they should be there for us!

Thanks again

Rich North Hudson FD

The new stats on public safety workers are that they live an average of seven years less than the general public. They along with other public employees are under paid compared to private sector employees and always have been. It is because of these factors they were given good retirements, to compensate them for the low pay and a short life span. I hear the governor of Fl saying he wants to bring their pensions in line with the private sector but he sure isn’t saying anything about bringing their salaries in line with the private sector. After all that would cost tax payers way more that gutting their pensions. We all know it is all about the billions of dollars they can steal from these funds once they cut all of these hero’s hard earned pension benefits.

Ed great job. Keep it up.You need to call on others for a million man march.

I'm with you Ed, I am proud of this our President for not standing by and watch the people in Libya brutally wiped out. They are simple people tired of being used and worked to death with nothing in return in the way of a thank-you. A president that helps other people in another country without something to gain....Maybe we in the good old U.S.A. should take note...