FLASHPOINT: People need to be more educated about Social Security

Sun, Jun 01 2008

— I’m sorry, Mrs. Lois Young (letter of May 11), that you choose to view me as your adversarial antagonist, but I will staunchly maintain that you, and the others who wrote, remain wrong in your concept of Social Security.

I had chosen to not respond to the other two writers who took me to task, but your letter really got my ire up, so here’s my “rebuttal” to you, as you expected.

First, your reference that I maybe should have had a better teacher besmirches my husband’s esteemed reputation as a longtime teacher of History, government and economics — a tenure which spread over years in the Vigo County school system, and resulted in many thank-yous and kudos from graduates of his classes for how well they were prepared when they got to college. Yes, because I did NOT have a good teacher in high school, I realize just how much many have missed over the years, after having the luxury of him explaining to me how some of our systems work.

One of the main points in my first letter was the defensive stance people take over the word “welfare”, and I believe I took the definition directly from the Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, which states (and I repeat, decisively): “Welfare state is a system whereby the government undertakes to protect the health and well-being of its citizens, especially those in financial or social need, by means of grants, pensions, etc.” That, Mrs. Young, is what our Social Security checks are — a “pension”, which was never intended for the wage-earner to exist on, but was instituted as a “stop-gap” measure to help us over the hump. We have long forgotten those intentions of the program, if most ever knew.

If you recall, I definitively pointed out that, no matter what you’ve paid into the system through your work efforts, it takes approximately two years or less to draw out every cent you ever paid in! And this is the part that really puzzles me. Where do you think the rest of what you’ve drawn, or will draw in your lifetime, is coming from?

And what part of “government give-away” don’t you (or choose NOT to) understand?

I read, with interest, your remark that I “complained about our Medicare and supplemental insurance premiums”.

Again, you chose to interpret by your own standards. At no time did I complain. In fact, what I said was that I was grateful that we’re able to meet those insurance payments, and that they’ve helped us out many times in our several health-related issues, and I thank God I was able to work to pay into the program, even though I’ve already drawn out thousands more than I ever paid into it. That’s what you don’t seem to grasp.

Please don’t put words into my mouth, Mrs. Young. I feel I have a very good understanding of what Social Security payments truly are, whether you and other citizens do or do not, but you must educate yourselves before you begin bashing others who DO know.

If you Google Social Security, you’ll find a wealth of much-needed information on its inception and how it works today. I suggest you, and others, take the time to educate yourselves before stepping in and assuming you know how it works, and scream about your hard-earned “entitlements”.

At no time did I ever disenfranchise the hard-working American wage-earner. We need everyone’s efforts to help keep this great country on it’s feet, and they’re appreciated.

In closing, please take the time to sit down and figure out how much you’ve actually paid into S.S. over your working lifetime, then estimate how much you’ll draw out if you live “x” number of years. I think you’ll be shocked to find that what I’ve stated is factual.

Unfortunately, it matters not a whit, how hard or how menial some of our jobs are/were. My husband and I both are college graduates, yet I chose to work at a low-paying job I loved, rather than to teach, which would have given me a lot more in benefits than I’m receiving now. That was MY choice, so I cannot complain and I don’t. Facts are facts, and while you can argue with me until your cows come home, you cannot argue with the facts.

— Ann McCammon

Terre Haute