Members of Congress all take care of themselves first, with salaries, increases, benefits, loopholes and lobbyists.

Then they take care of the poor and the working class.

None of them bother with the retired middle class on fixed income. We’re struggling to survive.

For decades they’ve stolen from the Social Security system for pet projects and personal gain. A few years ago, they voted to freeze our Social Security for three years.

They kept their income increases, but never refunded our losses.

Most recently, members of Congress stole again from the Social Security system to avoid a government shutdown. Then they froze our Social Security again.

Along with freezing our income, they tax our food items.

Perhaps freezing their incomes with petitions across this country will wake them up.

Or maybe petitions for incarceration of congressional members, until they and their predecessors return all the money they have stolen from us.

I believe they and their predecessors have committed treason against the retired middle class. We built the nation and made it great. I believe Congress has destroyed this nation and our democracy.

We earned our Social Security and it belongs to you, not to Congress. Congress needs to reverse the vote and return our increases retroactively.

All of them vote to give themselves raises in thousands of dollars. Even when they throw us crumbs of 1 to 1.5 percent, they are killing us. We should be receiving a backlog of $20 per month.

All that Medicare and Social Security were taken out of our pay week after week for 40, 50, even 60 years. It belongs to us — give it back.

Essie Mae Golden

Bingham