The Land of the Free: American Political Roleplay (IC II)

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Primary Evander? All he does is vote for Democratic bills, sponsor Democratic bills. He should be representing the interests of his constituents, not diluting the power of the small states to help the New York elites that dominate the Democratic party.

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Transgender "women" are not women! Man means man, woman means woman!

[Greater Arab State]

Washington, D.C.

The House Minority Leader was sat in a Wendy’s restaurant for lunch when suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate. After taking a few more bites out of his meal, he settled on taking his phone out and looking at it, at which point he saw that it was from Senator Dunbar of Kansas, admittedly, a Republican who the Congressman hadn’t spoken to at the time of her presidential campaign, thus, Representative rapidly typed up a reply.

To: Senator Kimberley Dunbar

From: House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

Senator,

I am certainly interested in discussing the Senate race with you, I’ll be in my office shortly.

Respectfully,

House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

After replying, and finishing his meal, the Missourian set off to return back to his office on the Hill and await Senator Dunbar’s arrival.

Kim, coffee in hand, made her way down to Volker's office and knocked once, firmly, before entering.

"Hey, neighbor," she laughed slightly, "how are you?"

“I’m exceptionally well, thank you for asking, Senator. And you?” Thomas replied, stretching his hand out for Kimberley to shake.

[New Cobastheia]

(Image)
John Logan Ruler
@SonOfRuler

---

Many rich people in Congress, they don't deserve more taxpayer-funded salaries. Cut the pork out of government. New bill coming, it'll tie a representative's salary to their net worth. Rep. Nez wants to spend more money. Rep. Walker wants to spend no more money. I want to spend LESS money. Simple.

TO: [Rep. Ruler]
FROM: [Rep. Nez]

Representative Nez would be willing to work with you on a bill tieing a Representative's salary to their net worth.

- [Nez's Cheif of Staff]

[Dentali]

Nate Richardson
@GovernorRichardson

While I agree that we need to get Congressional salaries under control that's not how people in Congress are getting rich. I've seen Senators on both sides of the aisle come into Congress for impoverished states almost penniless and within a few years become some of the richest members in Congress while those the represent are stuck in poverty. This isn't just because of a generous salary, we need to get tough on lobbying and other avenues by which our elected officials get rich while ignoring the real needs of the citizens.

[Greater Arab State]

Nate Richardson
@GovernorRichardson

While I agree that we need to get Congressional salaries under control that's not how people in Congress are getting rich. I've seen Senators on both sides of the aisle come into Congress for impoverished states almost penniless and within a few years become some of the richest members in Congress while those the represent are stuck in poverty. This isn't just because of a generous salary, we need to get tough on lobbying and other avenues by which our elected officials get rich while ignoring the real needs of the citizens.

Liked and retweeted by @RepresentativeVolker.

[Azekopolaltion]

---

Opinion
We Need To Clean Up Welfare

Millions of Americans in need are disconnected from our clunky, complicated, and inadequate welfare system. It's time for policymakers to fix it.

By Tim Westra
Mr. Westra is a senator from New Jersey and
a former Democratic candidate for president.



Since President Lyndon Baines Johnson launched the "War on Poverty" in the 60's, America has developed a welfare state that has become a crucial lifeline for millions of people who have lost out in our rigged economy. Each year, the number of Americans living in poverty is two thirds what it would have been without our existing social safety net.

Yet, our public officials don't treat our welfare state as the vital support system that it is for so many families. Our public programs are constantly threatened and often faced with crushing budget cuts by Republican state governors and federal policymakers that decry the waste and inefficiency of welfare bureaucracy with little to no regard for the human beings that depend on it to live in dignity. Just look at the cruel 1996 Clifford welfare reform - which I was vocally against - which "ended welfare as we know it." With bipartisan support, the law ended up increasing deep poverty, reducing the incomes of the poor, and made it harder for our social safety net to respond to recessions (as seen in 2008). The upsides to the law, including the creation of the Earned Income Tax Credit, were relatively few in comparison to the major erosion of our welfare state that occurred because of President Clifford's actions.

But the attacks of the anti-welfare hawks are incredibly potent. Because the truth is, these critics are diagnostically correct; our social safety net, despite its protection of so many families, is incredibly dysfunctional. The messiness and narrowness of the system leaves it vulnerable to erosion by spending hawks that don't believe in allowing our citizens to live in dignity.

For one thing, the American social safety net isn't so much a "net" as it is a hodgepodge – a patchwork of individual, often state-funded public programs with different eligibility standards, different benefits, different purposes, and largely different outcomes. The most successful (and popular) of these programs are the universal ones: Social Security and Medicare. Universally accessible to Americans over the age of 65, Social Security has had the single highest rate of success out of all public programs administered by the government; it lifts more Americans out of poverty alone than any other existing program, with about 22 million people relying on its benefits to keep them out of extreme economic insecurity.

And yet, our universal programs stand in relatively small number. Unlike more social-democratic nations such as those in Scandinavia or other European countries, no cohesive, united welfare system exists to bind together our population and protect the most vulnerable. As such, the system is ripe for attack; it inspires no collective pride in our social infrastructure.

Worse, our means tested programs are not even being accessed by everyone who needs it. 13 million Americans, which is over a quarter of the poor population, are completely disconnected from the social safety net, with the lion's share of that population being the very poorest of the poor (those who make under $13,000 a year). The existence of this disconnected population is largely due to the complicated nature of our welfare programs; hard to understand work requirements and different levels of means-testing leaves millions of needy citizens unsure of which program to use and how to access our safety net.

The first step to fixing the mess is streamlining existing programs. Right now, devolved state-management of certain federally funded programs, like SNAP and unemployment insurance, leads to unnecessary administrative costs, confusing variance in benefits and requirements, and insolvency for certain programs. Both SNAP and UI should be absorbed by the federal government and administered by the Social Security Administration. This would also create surpluses and savings for states who currently have to fund unemployment insurance with their own taxes as opposed to solely the federal unemployment tax. Centralizing these programs would allow for more effective, cleaner management nationwide.

Second is fixing the operation of these programs themselves. Our means-tested old-age and disability pension programs are horrendously clunky and contain benefits that are both inaccessible and redundant in many ways. Take Social Security Old Age (SSOA), our popular universal social insurance program, and Supplementary Security Income (SSI), a program for the low-income elderly. SSOA has an earnings-related pension while SSI is a means-tested pension, meaning that the former is calculated based on prior earnings while the latter is based on current income as well as assets. SSOA administers pensions to all Americans above the age of 62, although they cannot receive their full monthly amounts until the age of 66 which is the retirement age for the purpose of this program. SSI, meanwhile, pays out pensions to qualified Americans above the age of 65, their own retirement standard. Eligibility for SSI is much more confusing since it takes asset values into account; individuals with over $2000 of countable assets are ineligible. Not only is this confusing - it's unfair, too.

The first order of business in fixing the old age pension system is to harmonize the retirement age at 65. Our programs should have fixed standards to make them easier to navigate. Second is establishing a minimum benefit for Social Security equal to the one-person federal poverty line, about $1,000 a month. Recipients would be able to choose the higher of their earnings-related benefit or the minimum benefit. Once SSOA is reformed to meet these simpler standards, SSI can be eliminated; the minimum benefit would make the means-tested program unnecessary. These changes would eliminate needless confusion in asset testing and income testing, while successfully eliminating elderly poverty. A cleaner system, a better system.

Same goes for disability benefits. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program designed to assist adults with a work-limiting disability, and the program is accompanied by a work history requirement. Those who don't meet that standard but have a disability that prevents them from working are eligible for assistance from SSI. Currently, individuals must wait five months after they are confirmed as disabled to receive SSDI. This waiting period is cruel and unnecessary, and should be eliminated. Second, there are different maximum income requirements for non-blind recipients and blind recipients; the former cannot earn above $1,260 a month, while the latter cannot earn above $2,110 a month. This discrepancy makes no sense. They should be harmonized at the blind person limit. And finally, as stated above, a minimum SSDI benefit equal to the poverty line should be established and all work history requirements for SSDI eligibility should be eliminated. This would make SSI for disabled adults unnecessary and allow for the programs dissolution.

My final suggestion in this article is targeted at child poverty, perhaps the most cruel form of poverty in existence. No child should have to feel anxious about where their next meal is coming from, where they'll be living next, and whether their parents will still have a paycheck next week. And it is a national embarrassment that America has the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. The solution is simple: replace the Child Tax Credit, which has too many loopholes and covers far too few families, with a fully refundable universal child stipend. In other words, cash to every single family with children, regardless of income.

This program exists in almost every EU country, as well as in the UK and Canada. This explains why European nations have been so much more effective at cutting child poverty rates; in the US, about 12 percent of children live in poverty, while only 6.2 percent of German children do, and only 3.6 percent of Swedish children. And this is when comparing it to the US poverty line, which is not pegged to the median income like it is in Europe - if we compare it on that metric, the numbers are significantly worse. A universal child benefit of $3,6000 annually per child under 6 and $3,000 per child between 6 and 17, would cut child poverty by over 50% in our nation, which would be one of the biggest antipoverty successes that I will have seen in my lifetime.

So that's it, really. Simpler eligibility standards, minimum benefits above poverty, and increasing the number of universal programs in our welfare state. Our social safety net should bind us together and make Americans realize the need for collective responsibility and protection in a modern, moral, wealthy society. Only then will we be able to live in a nation where all of our people can live in dignity, regardless of their identity or background.

---

Tim Westra is a senator from New Jersey and a former Democratic candidate for president.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

[Greater Arab State]

TO: [Majority Leader Warrick], [Minority Leader Volker]
FROM: [Eliza LeBlanc Wolf]

Senator Warrick,
Representative Volker,

I'm writing to inform both of you that in a few days time I intend to announce a run for the Senate election in Maine. I felt it would be best to give you both a heads up on this matter given that you are the leaders of our party in Congress and I'd rather not have both of you find out about this with everyone else. If you have any questions feel free to reach out.

Best Regards,

Eliza LeBlanc Wolf
First Lady of the United States (2017-2019)
President of the Maine Senate (2001-2002)

To: Eliza LeBlanc Wolf

From: House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

Madam First Lady,

I was wondering whether it might be possible to arrange a meeting regarding your Senate run in order to discuss it further?

Respectfully,

House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

[Lavan Tiri]

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Primary Evander? All he does is vote for Democratic bills, sponsor Democratic bills. He should be representing the interests of his constituents, not diluting the power of the small states to help the New York elites that dominate the Democratic party.

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Transgender "women" are not women! Man means man, woman means woman!

Representative Jason Evander
@JasonFromSD

You heard it here, folks--the Family Farm Defense Act, the Relief Act, and the Iran Sanctions Act are all Democratic bills.

Forgive me for being more interested in actual actionable solutions for the people of South Dakota, than useless partisan grandstanding. Some of us actually do our jobs, Jim.

---

Kim, coffee in hand, made her way down to Volker's office and knocked once, firmly, before entering.

"Hey, neighbor," she laughed slightly, "how are you?"

“I’m exceptionally well, thank you for asking, Senator. And you?” Thomas replied, stretching his hand out for Kimberley to shake.

She gave it a firm shake, adjusting her purse. "Very well, thanks. Recovered from my...unfortunate episode at the end of last year, thankfully."

"Now, Representative," she said, "I hate to be impolite but I'm afraid if I'm gone from the Senate too long I'll miss the fighting. What are your thoughts on the Senate race in Texas?"

[New Cobastheia]

To: Eliza LeBlanc Wolf

From: House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

Madam First Lady,

I was wondering whether it might be possible to arrange a meeting regarding your Senate run in order to discuss it further?

Respectfully,

House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

TO: [Minorty Leader Volker]
FROM: [Eliza LeBlanc Wolf]

I'm not quite sure I'll be able to come down to Washington any time soon, but if your available to come up to Maine that could work. If not does talking over the phone work for you?

Best,

Eliza LeBlanc Wolf

[Greater Arab State]

To: Eliza LeBlanc Wolf

From: House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

Madam First Lady,

I was wondering whether it might be possible to arrange a meeting regarding your Senate run in order to discuss it further?

Respectfully,

House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

TO: [Minorty Leader Volker]
FROM: [Eliza LeBlanc Wolf]

I'm not quite sure I'll be able to come down to Washington any time soon, but if your available to come up to Maine that could work. If not does talking over the phone work for you?

Best,

Eliza LeBlanc Wolf

To: Eliza LeBlanc Wolf

From: House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

Madam First Lady,

I am certainly able to come up to Maine, in fact, I intended to. I look forward to the meeting.

Respectfully,

House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

[Greater Arab State]

“I’m exceptionally well, thank you for asking, Senator. And you?” Thomas replied, stretching his hand out for Kimberley to shake.

She gave it a firm shake, adjusting her purse. "Very well, thanks. Recovered from my...unfortunate episode at the end of last year, thankfully."

"Now, Representative," she said, "I hate to be impolite but I'm afraid if I'm gone from the Senate too long I'll miss the fighting. What are your thoughts on the Senate race in Texas?"

“Well, Senator, I must admit, I intend to speak to all of the candidates in person in order to then issue and endorsement, I’ve met with one of them so far. That being said though, Congressman Clay’s entry has certainly gave me much to think about for the race.”

[The Orion Islands]

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Primary Evander? All he does is vote for Democratic bills, sponsor Democratic bills. He should be representing the interests of his constituents, not diluting the power of the small states to help the New York elites that dominate the Democratic party.

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Transgender "women" are not women! Man means man, woman means woman!

Representative Jason Evander
@JasonFromSD

You heard it here, folks--the Family Farm Defense Act, the Relief Act, and the Iran Sanctions Act are all Democratic bills.

Forgive me for being more interested in actual actionable solutions for the people of South Dakota, than useless partisan grandstanding. Some of us actually do our jobs, Jim.

Liked and retweeted by @EverittRigbyColbert

[The Orion Islands]

Colbert Twitter @EverittRigbyColbert
"Public Law 91-375 is the law that established the United States Postal Service. In effect, Walker is attempting to filibuster in the House by forcing a vote on this patently insane amendment. Vote down Walker's deranged filibuster!"

[New Cobastheia]

"Out of all the candidates running, I'd say a Dayton Administration and a Murphy Administration are the two most likely to attempt that change, with a Dayton Administration being more likely to work for whatever change it'd think it can get through Congress and a Murphy Administration more likely to work for change regardless of not it thinks it'll get through Congress."



"I'm obviously not a vet, but I'm inclined to agree," She paused for a moment, thinking of something else to ask, "Let's say a situation similar to [not-Merrick Garland] or [not-Brett Kavanaugh] were to happen again, how would you deal with that as a Senator."

"Which tactic would you prefer?" Jillian narrowed in.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"I'd have hoped to hear (Not-Garland) out before deciding how to vote, and one of the most beautiful factors of not being an incumbent is that decision was never on me," he laughed, "to be honest, I can't say. I would have wanted more time before we made a determination on whether to proceed, I'd have liked to hear out the Judge, and completed the investigation."

"As a strategy, I'm more of a throw everything at them kind of person, but when it comes to temperament, I'd probably prefer someone like you more than I would some like Levi."

----------------------------------------------------------------

"How are you planning on getting Hispanics to vote for you in the general?"

[Lavan Tiri]

Colbert Twitter @EverittRigbyColbert
"Public Law 91-375 is the law that established the United States Postal Service. In effect, Walker is attempting to filibuster in the House by forcing a vote on this patently insane amendment. Vote down Walker's deranged filibuster!"

Liked and retweeted by @JasonFromSD

---

Senator Kimberly Dunbar
@KimKan

While I'm opposed to the politically-motivated attempt to invent new Congressional Districts for California, the postal service is one of the most important services in our nation. Many people in rural Kansas depend on it!

---

She gave it a firm shake, adjusting her purse. "Very well, thanks. Recovered from my...unfortunate episode at the end of last year, thankfully."

"Now, Representative," she said, "I hate to be impolite but I'm afraid if I'm gone from the Senate too long I'll miss the fighting. What are your thoughts on the Senate race in Texas?"

“Well, Senator, I must admit, I intend to speak to all of the candidates in person in order to then issue and endorsement, I’ve met with one of them so far. That being said though, Congressman Clay’s entry has certainly gave me much to think about for the race.”

"Understandable, and please, call me Kim."

She leaned forward slightly, fixing a stray strand of hair. "Your endorsement would be potent in the primary, Congressman. And I believe Congressman Clay is the best candidate, not just to win the primary, but the general, and to be a United States Senator."

[Meelducan]

Matt Walker
@WashingtonWhip

---

Exactly Kim! That's why we need to return it to its original role in our Government, a federal department!

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

TO: [Rep. Walker]
FROM: [Gov. Burgun]

Dear Soon to Be Majority Leader,

It has come to my attention that there is a certain troublemaker in the Republican caucus in the State directly south of my own. South Dakota-At Large is of course a seat that is redder than Alabama, and thus the Republican primary is the single meaningful election in that state. If need be I would be perfectly happy to devote resources in finding and recruiting a potential candidate that would be more amiable to the party's program than somebody who never votes the Republican-line. I have considerable connections in the State of South Dakota, and I have no doubt that a candidate with the leadership's backing could unseat Rep. Evander.


Regards,

James

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Stupid Democrats want to abolish our State, there is very little compromise to be found with these types of people! Maybe next time Jason Evander will sell the Democrats the rope that they use to hang the Dakotas? Who knows!

[Emazia]

(Image)
Matt Walker
@WashingtonWhip

---

Exactly Kim! That's why we need to return it to its original role in our Government, a federal department!

Congressman Theodore Vohoffsky
@CaliforniaLibertarian

And this is related to the HRA...how? We can have a genuine discussion when it comes to our postal service as I understand it is a key service for many Americans, but I cannot quite frankly understand why this is a necessary amendment to the House Reapportionment Act.

Congressman Theodore Vohoffsky
@CaliforniaLibertarian

I'll be doing an online town hall soon, in order to listen to the American people, and ensure that we can bring about a greater change in our political system and end the age of hatred, anger and rage that has struck our party, and bring forth a new form of Republican politics, with new energy, new ideas and a new agenda! #NNNforAmerica

[Lavan Tiri]

James Burgun
@RoughriderGovernor
Stupid Democrats want to abolish our State, there is very little compromise to be found with these types of people! Maybe next time Jason Evander will sell the Democrats the rope that they use to hang the Dakotas? Who knows!

Representative Jason Evander
@JasonFromSD

You flirt like some of my old students. Being mean won't make me like you back, Jimmy.

Representative Jason Evander
@JasonFromSD

I promise the people of South Dakota that, if Congress abolishes our state, I will simply intervene and not allow it.

Representative Jason Evander
@JasonFromSD

If you look, you'll see my name on Bills to protect gun rights, to keep small farms operating, to provide relief to those affected by natural disasters, to lay sanctions on the terrorist regime of Iran, and to end the anti-semitic, anti-Israel BDS and movement.

[Lavan Tiri]

(Image)
Matt Walker
@WashingtonWhip

---

Exactly Kim! That's why we need to return it to its original role in our Government, a federal department!

Senator Kimberly Dunbar
@KimKan

I don't want to smear fellow Republicans on Twitter. So I won't be engaging in this conversation with you,
Walker. And by the way--it's Senator Dunbar.

[Greater Arab State]

“Well, Senator, I must admit, I intend to speak to all of the candidates in person in order to then issue and endorsement, I’ve met with one of them so far. That being said though, Congressman Clay’s entry has certainly gave me much to think about for the race.”

"Understandable, and please, call me Kim."

She leaned forward slightly, fixing a stray strand of hair. "Your endorsement would be potent in the primary, Congressman. And I believe Congressman Clay is the best candidate, not just to win the primary, but the general, and to be a United States Senator."

“Well, thank you, Kim, feel free to call me Tom.” Volker replied politely before listening to the Senator.

“I can definitely see why you would think that, the Congressman certainly has a strong record of experience and is a committed conservative, which’ll help balance us out after the difficulties in last year’s election. I’ll certainly be sure to meet with the Congressman, most likely sooner rather than later, however, I will have to meet with the other candidates as well just to confirm who I end up endorsing.”

[Puertollano]

Tammy Tablot @VegasTablot In 15 states, welfare recipients must pass a drug test before receiving their payments. At this rate, all Representatives and Senators should be required to pass a drug test before they can receive their pay-check! I think you will find that the tax-payer will save a great deal of money. - Tammy

[Greater Arab State]

To: Senator Kimberley Dunbar, Senator Everett Colbert

From: House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

Dear Senator,

I understand that a number of you have expressed concerns regarding an amendment to the House Apportionment Act seeking to revert the Post Office back to a government department. I can categorically confirm that this is not an act of deliberate Republican policy, this is merely being used to fully ensure that the bill is killed in the Senate. Consequently, I ask that you refrain from any further commentary in order to reduce any division that may arise and I also apologise for the miscommunication on the issue.

Respectfully,

House Minority Leader Thomas Volker

[Lavan Tiri]

Representative Jason Evander
@JasonFromSD

Freaky Faulhauber and Wacky Walker want to abolish South Dakota AND the Post Office. I just want lunch.