The Social Security Scandal

Once upon a time, Americans believed in a free enterprise system. Freedom meant having the freedom to live and work without undue governmental interference. Those who lived in and migrated to America, didn't expect handouts. No one expected the government to step in at the first sign of adversity.

It was up to individuals, not government, to put aside enough for those retirement years. Things changed when Socialistic government leaders began viewing their role, not as facilitators offering a hand up, but as paternalistic controllers offering a handout.

Elected officials voted more power away from citizens while adding repressive regulations and taxes with stiff punishments for refusal to knuckle under such domination. Under this umbrella of regulation and taxes, officials in the federal government conceived of the Social Security system to extract taxes from citizens to be used for their retirement.

Social Security sounded pretty good to the average Joe and Mary. What they weren't told was that the money being extracted from them for Social Security wasn't theirs any longer and they forfeited rights to their hard-earned money or any say in how it was used by the Social Security system.

Social Security monies have been raided over and over again for other purposes and stretched to cover more and more government programs. The usual ploy is to gain sympathy by talking about the poor and needy. What those who continually refuse to alter the Social Security system do not share is that Joe and Mary are systematically being stripped of their right to self-determination through confiscatory taxes, the right to keep monies they earned and the right to their own retirement funds without having them squandered by Social Security regulators and our elected officials who should have our well-being as top priority.

Many politicians promise huge increases in spending, sometimes even for worthy programs, but they do so without reminding their constituents of a dirty little secret--these programs are funded by monies extracted from citizens, many who'll receive little return on that forced investment. Some of that money comes from your Social Security monies. Mary and Joe could better use their money for their own savings, their own business ventures--maybe even to pay bills and put food on the table.

Social Security is in trouble with too few paying in and way too many on the dole.

In this election cycle, when a politician tries to elicit your sympathy or greed by expounding on the need for more government programs and expanded use of Social Security funds, remind yourself they're talking about increasing your taxes, giving away more of your money--leaving less for you. The only way to fund such increases is to extract more money through taxes. Maybe even forcing you to pay taxes on Social Security benefits.

Maybe it is time to demand an accounting of what the government is doing with your money, with your taxes. Will there be any Social Security money left when you retire? Not at the rate it is being spent. After all, there are only so many taxpayers, but way too many who receive benefits from the Social Security system. Maybe it is time we have a say in where our Social Security funds go, like in a private account.

Voice your opinion with your letters, phone calls, involvement and your vote. The taxes, the money and the future you save may be your own. And...vote wisely.