Opinion

Gov. Greg Abbott, just hours after the Senate initially approved a school voucher measure, said he would add teacher raises and increased public school funding to the ongoing special session agenda if the Texas Legislature passes his voucher plan, the Texas Tribune reported.

For the 30th consecutive month Texas showed job growth, reaching just under 14 million jobs and outpacing the nation in its annual rate of employment growth, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. “Our world-class Texas workforce has grown by more than 400,000 jobs over the last year, thanks largely to the energizing job creation by our private-sector employers,” said TWC commissioner Aaron Demerson.

Dear Rusty: I read with interest an analysis of the history, reasons, and financial costs of the SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) programs. My question is, specifically, what portion of the Social Security budget goes toward SSI and SSDI vs. for regular SS retirement income for those who paid into the fund during their working lives? How are the costs of SSI and SSDI covered by the federal government? When did these two sections of the budget enter the law and what was the impetus behind them? Signed: An Inquiring Mind Dear Inquiring Mind: No part of Social Security’s “budget” is used to pay SSI (Supplemental Security Income). SSI is a means-tested general assistance program for disadvantaged children and needy disabled adults and aged seniors who have very little income and very few assets. Federal SSI benefits are paid from the government’s General Treasury, not from Social Security Trust Funds. SSI is jointly administered by the person’s state of residence and the Social Security Administration, and the state usually provides additional benefits to supplement the financial assistance provided by the federal government under the SSI program. The Social Security Administration only administers the SSI program, it does not fund it.

Mention the name Walter R. Chambers to families with long connection to the tiny Coleman County community of Burkett, TX, and a hush of funereal proportions is immediately evident.

Uncle Mort, my aged uncle down in The Thicket, has heard the expression since childhood. He’s used it repeatedly since about the time he thinks he became an adult.

Dear Rusty: Why are my Social Security benefits being taxed at all? The Social Security FICA payroll taxes taken out of my paycheck while I was working were paid with taxable income. Signed: Disgruntled Taxpayer Dear Disgruntled Taxpayer: Many Americans share your belief that federal taxation of Social Security benefits is unfair because we pay into the program through payroll taxes on our taxable earnings. Unfortunately, Congress took a different view in 1983 when taxation of Social Security benefits was first enacted at a time Social Security was having financial issues. Congressional logic back then was that a beneficiary only personally pays 50% of the Social Security contributions made (the other half is paid by the employer) so, since your Social Security entitlement was only half paid for by you and the other half by your employer, the portion of your benefit attributable to your employer’s contributions should be taxable. So, it’s that other half – the portion of your benefit which resulted from employer contributions - which the 1983 Congress decided should be taxed. So, starting in 1984, if a beneficiary’s overall annual income from all sources exceeded $25,000 for a single filer or $32,000 for those filing married-jointly, half of that person’s Social Security benefits became part of their income taxable by the IRS.

h Gov. Greg Abbott issued a letter to legislative leaders indicating a special session will begin on Oct.

Gov. Greg Abbott has called a third special session, this time about school choice, for next month. He is promising retribution for lawmakers who oppose his move to enact school vouchers in Texas, the Texas Tribune reported.

Randy Brooks, who portrayed Jesus in “The Promise” more than 6,000 times, is nearing the 60-year mark in Christian ministry. But, he still has “the look”--the kind that causes head-scratching when vaguely familiar faces are seen.

Dear Rusty: I’m turning 95 this year and am caretaker for my wife in our 70th year of marriage. I served before 1968 (1951-53) during the Korean War. How do the “special extra credits for military service” work for me? Is it retro-active? My wife, who only worked a short time, gets half of my Social Security so would it affect hers, too? Signed: Korean War Veteran Dear War Veteran: First, I want to express my gratitude for your wartime service to our country and I also applaud your 70 years of marriage. Thank you, and congratulations!