I hate old people. More specifically, I hate nearly every employee or former employee of the Long Island Rail Road, who have been egregiously abusing the nation's and New York state's disability systems.
And if you're thinking, "so what, it's New York, I don't live there, it doesn't affect me," you are flat wrong.
The L.I.R.R.’s record also raises questions about why the Railroad Retirement Board approves nearly 100 percent of disability requests from all the nation’s railroads. The board is funded through taxes on railroads and their workers, but Social Security had to contribute $3.6 billion last year to cover expenses.
“Everyone in America is going to contribute to that,” said Rick Lifto, assistant vice president of general claims for B.N.S.F., a large freight railroad. B.N.S.F.’s disability rate is lower than the L.I.R.R.’s, but even so, Mr. Lifto said, disabilities still cost his company millions of dollars.
By the way, this is just one more reason why the New York Times is the best source of news in the nation, regardless of what you might hear from certain political quarters.
I'll post something more fun about my summer vacation(s) soon. Also: suck it, Phil Fulmer.
UPDATE: I totally lied about posting anything about my summer vacations. Here's the short version: I went to the Adirondacks, paddled around in a canoe, camped and went on a brutal hike. I also went down to Florida and got caught in a tropical storm. Yawn.
