Roemer Discusses Issues At Local Town Meetings
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer was in Warsaw and Syracuse yesterday talking about public school reform, IRS reform and Social Security.
During two town meetings, held at Warsaw Community Public Library and Syracuse Town Hall, Roemer also listened to questions from area residents.
Warsaw residents were concerned about the status of Social Security. Roemer responded by telling them that it was soluble until 2029 but something still needs to be done to ensure that younger generations will be able to benefit from the program.
He said Social Security should not be used as a retirement plan but, instead, be used to complement such plans as the 401K and pension plans.
He has also voted for bills that would limit Social Security benefits for those who abuse drugs and alcohol.
The Syracuse crowd, which included several high school students, was concerned about public education and Roemer's view on the space station.
Roemer said that public education reform was one of his largest concerns. He said the schools need to stop what he called"social promotion" of students in the early grade levels.
Social promotion is the advancement of students because failing them would damage their self-esteem. Roemer said that even though failing a student would damage his or her self-esteem, being promoted to grade six without being able to read would damage it tremendously more.
Roemer also said, "If you're a teacher and you don't do your job, we should be able to get rid of you. If you're a principal and you don't do your job, we should be able to get rid of you."
Roemer emphasized IRS reform during both meetings, saying that the IRS has not been reformed since 1952. He said now that he has pushed through several tax cuts, he is going to push for a simplified tax form to make filing taxes easier so that more people can take advantage of the tax cuts.
In response to the Syracuse High School students' questions about the space station, Roemer said the project should be scrapped. With a cost of more than $100 billion and the lack of other countries paying their shares, the project has degraded so much from the original idea it will be useless, he said.
The original space station had eight purposes and was to be funded by all nations, he said. Now there is only one purpose and some countries, like Russia, are not able to pay.
Roemer would like to disband the project and use the funds on more tangible projects like the Pathfinder. [[In-content Ad]]
U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer was in Warsaw and Syracuse yesterday talking about public school reform, IRS reform and Social Security.
During two town meetings, held at Warsaw Community Public Library and Syracuse Town Hall, Roemer also listened to questions from area residents.
Warsaw residents were concerned about the status of Social Security. Roemer responded by telling them that it was soluble until 2029 but something still needs to be done to ensure that younger generations will be able to benefit from the program.
He said Social Security should not be used as a retirement plan but, instead, be used to complement such plans as the 401K and pension plans.
He has also voted for bills that would limit Social Security benefits for those who abuse drugs and alcohol.
The Syracuse crowd, which included several high school students, was concerned about public education and Roemer's view on the space station.
Roemer said that public education reform was one of his largest concerns. He said the schools need to stop what he called"social promotion" of students in the early grade levels.
Social promotion is the advancement of students because failing them would damage their self-esteem. Roemer said that even though failing a student would damage his or her self-esteem, being promoted to grade six without being able to read would damage it tremendously more.
Roemer also said, "If you're a teacher and you don't do your job, we should be able to get rid of you. If you're a principal and you don't do your job, we should be able to get rid of you."
Roemer emphasized IRS reform during both meetings, saying that the IRS has not been reformed since 1952. He said now that he has pushed through several tax cuts, he is going to push for a simplified tax form to make filing taxes easier so that more people can take advantage of the tax cuts.
In response to the Syracuse High School students' questions about the space station, Roemer said the project should be scrapped. With a cost of more than $100 billion and the lack of other countries paying their shares, the project has degraded so much from the original idea it will be useless, he said.
The original space station had eight purposes and was to be funded by all nations, he said. Now there is only one purpose and some countries, like Russia, are not able to pay.
Roemer would like to disband the project and use the funds on more tangible projects like the Pathfinder. [[In-content Ad]]