Simckes’ Plan for Retirement

Andria Simckes, one of the democratic candidates for Missouri State Treasurer, released a plan that aims to make saving for retirement easier for Missourians.

Simckes cites the worsening economy as one of the reasons Missourians are having difficulty saving for retirement, and proposes that her plan will help Missourians in this endeavor.

Simckes’ plan includes creating a universal 401K plan, which she feels “will provide employees an incentive to save for retirement as well as make it easier for our businesses to compete for workers by giving them the ability to offer more benefits to their employees. Moreover, a universal 401(k) plan will significantly reduce administrative costs to employees allowing workers to keep more of what they save,” a news release stated.

Her plan also calls for greater use of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or payroll deduction IRA.  “Research shows that a payroll deduction is a key factor in the success of employer-sponsored retirement plans.  A payroll deduction IRA enables employees to elect to have a portion of their paycheck automatically deposited into their personal retirement account by their employer,” the release stated.

Finally, the release stated “I will educate our small business community about two other IRAs – SIMPLE and SEP – that employers could offer employees today. These IRAs are intended to minimize paperwork and offer more flexible contributions limits to employers, while also allowing employees to save for retirement.”

Bob Onder to receive 2008 Friend of Agriculture award

State Rep. Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis, who just made the news when Gov. Blunt signed his immigration bill, will recieve the Missouri Farm Bureau‘s 2008 Friend of Agriculture award, according to a release.

Onder is a candidate to replace Kenny Hulshof in the Ninth District U.S. House seat. Hulshof has received the award from the American Farm Bureau several times in the past.

“It is an honor to be recognized for my efforts to stand up for family farmers,” Onder said in the release. “I thank the Missouri Farm Bureau for the privilege of this distinction.”

Dems: Condemnation and concern over FISA renewal

The Senate voted to renew the the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act today with a vote of 69-28.

Earlier today, former Missouri Sen. and Democratic Ken Jacob called the bill an example of weak leadership, citing the 105 Democrats who voted for its June 20 passage in the House. (The measure passed there overall with a vote of 293-129.)

“This is just another instance of the power of the corporate lobbyist culture in Washington attempting to infringe upon Constitutional liberties, and is a direct result of weak leadership in the Congress,” he said in a news release.

The act would allow wiretapping within the United States so the government can gain foreign intelligence. Renewal would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that gave the government information according to the bill.

State Rep. Judy Baker said in an e-mail the act caused her concern.

“The bill is the Bush administration asking the legislature to wipe the slate clean after breaking the law,” she said. “I strongly support our intelligence gathering community having the tools they need to protect us, but I have serious concerns about providing blanket immunity to companies that broke the law.”

Former state Rep. Steve Gaw said in an e-mail that he would have opposed granting the companies immunity for sharing customers’ data. But he said he supports the rest of the act.

“I support doing everything legal to protect our citizens,” he said.

Gaw, Baker, Jacob and Marion County Commissioner Lyndon Bode are running in the Democratic primary for the Ninth District seat on the U.S. Congress. Bode was unavailable for comment today.

Baker: Onder should cut ties with House speaker

Even Republicans are beginning to denounce Missouri Speaker of the House Rod Jetton’s political consulting business. So it’s no surprise that state Rep. Bob Onder’s ties to him are drawing attention from those who hope to oppose him if he becomes the Republican candidate to replace Kenny Hulshof in the Ninth District U.S. House seat.

Rep. Judy Baker, a Democrat, called for Onder to “sever the ties between his Congressional campaign and Jetton” – especially since the Baker and Onder are seeking their respective parties’ nominations for the Ninth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.