To the editor,
When Social Security was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Social Security (SS) Trust Fund was established to receive ALL excess, annual, SS collections. These annual collections, plus the interest they would have been earning, would have kept SS solvent far into the unforeseeable future, helping pay for SS retirement checks and annual Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs), that would have been fair retirement incomes for qualified recipients. However, starting in 1986, our unaccountable and unrepentant Congressmen chose to start spending “OUR” Trust Fund dollars on “pork barrel” projects that would help them get re-elected in their respective districts and states. In doing so, they showed no compassion or sincere regard for the future of America’s retirees. Since 1986, Congress has “stolen” $2.15 trillion of “our” retirement money, and left in its place IOUs they have no intention of paying back! The obvious dilemma, is that, if the “stolen” Trust Fund moneys ever were paid back, it would probably be through increased taxation of the American public — again giving us the shaft! To add insult in injury, Congress has refused to pay decent SS COLAs ever since 1986. Adding further insult to injury, Congress has bastardized SS by paying out benefits to people other than retirees! And now Congress wants to give SS pay checks to illegal immigrants! How can we end this insanity and sinful treatment of American retirees, past, present, and future, and force Congress to quit stealing the Trust Fund? There are four ways: 1. Through letters phone calls, e-mails, etc., tell your elected Congressmen to vote for the “Trust Fund Lock Box Bill,” #S.302 in the Senate and #H.R. 4338 in the House of Reps. 2. Come this November, don’t vote for a candidate unless they’ve pledged to vote for the Lock Box Bill. Be adamant! 2. Support those national organizations who are attempting to force the government into saving SS. I’ll name a few: The Seniors Coalition, National Association of Uniformed Services, Christian Seniors Association, Traditional Values Coalition, Capitol Watch, Americans for Tax Reform, and Citizens Against Government Waste. 4. Probably the only way we will ever be able to solve our problems with greed, incompetence, disrespect for retirees, partisan bickering, and corruption in our elected Congressmen, is to have national referendums in all 50 states and vote in “Term Limits” for all national (and perhaps state) Congressmen. But to start, let’s all do our part at the ballot box this November!
Don C. Carey
International Falls, MN