Congress should cut its retirement benefits, not Social Security benefits

Damian Paletta's March 21 article about Social Security in the Wall Street Journal stated that our government spent $706 billion in 2010 on Social Security payments for roughly 54 million beneficiaries, which included retirees and those with disabilities. That averages roughly $3,250 a year for each beneficiary.

He also stated that six senators are crafting a deal to cut $4 trillion from Social Security payments over the next 10 years. It is my opinion that Congress needs to start with its own retirement benefits for their cutting.

There are 413 retired Congress members receiving federal pensions based on their service as of Oct. 6, 2006. Of this number, 290 had retired under the Civil Service Retirement System and were being paid an average of $60,972 each annually and 123 retired members receiving an additional $35,952 or $96,924. The amounts mentioned did not include surviving spouses of congressmen.

I've never been able to justify that our congressmen should receive more retirement that their constituents. Let's base Social Security on a salary that is capped as $100,000 or less for every U.S. citizen regardless of their work. Notify your congressmen to cut their retirement benefits.

Martha Huffman

Iowa City