RE: Values

[Lisa Furia <lfuria@earthlink.net>]

Everyone wants to plunk down proposals without spending much time
discussing guiding principles. It would be like having a legal code
before a Constitution.  This attitude assumes the guiding principles
upon which SS was founded are still valid.  I applaud your guidance
toward the focused discussion of values.

You asked:

#1  What is the most important value that you and your family hold
about Social Security?

#2  What are the values that you most want your elected officials
to protect as they consider making changes in the Social Security
program?

In response to Q1, the following values are most important to me:
1) Fairness - e.g., the pain of change/reform is distributed equally
across age groups
2) Justice - e.g., across the spectrum of our society, some will
require public assistance indefinitely
3) Accountability - e.g., administration should consider recipients
customers and the public its stakeholder. Fraud should be diminished;
people treated with respect.

Regarding Q2, the following values are what I will hold my elected
representatives accountable to in the reform process:
1) Respect - e.g., for the politically unrepresented (children)
and future generations
2) Pragmatism - e.g., don't sell out my future and my children's
to present day politics
3) Consensus - e.g., this is no time to vote along party lines -
I want to see bipartisan support for whatever reform measure is
implemented.

Thanks for such a great discussion start.

Lisa