Social InSecurity

It lasted two years, but seemed the blink of an eye. In 1983, after 17 married years, my spouse was gone, taken by a virulent breast cancer. Besides the emotional trauma, another bruising reality jarred me. That reality: raising two daughters on one salary.

We did not sit down in the kitchen one evening, my 13-year-old offering, “Daddy, I could get a part-time job to help with the mortgage,” and my 8-year-old crying, “I guess I could give up piano lessons.” Nothing that dramatic. But the specter was every bit that real.

That is, until we were rescued by an unexpected white knight, by long-gone, but far-sighted public servants. Although not replacing my wife’s check, Social Security allowed me the freedom and liberty to work and raise kids with dignity. Twenty-two years later, it again offers a degree of freedom.

We all take Social security for granted—until retirement or personal crisis. It is not some distant and bureaucratic government scheme. Our most successful domestic program provides the liberty of economic security.

As I watched the inauguration charade, our protected President spoke of bringing Freedom and Liberty to the world. Then he was carried to the White House by a tank dressed as a Cadillac, with armor unavailable to many soldiers on the front lines he sent them to, its guns carried by ranks of Secret service officers and legions of police. He waved from the tomb of his bullet and people-proof box and sped up to avoid being hit by protestors’ anguished cries against injustice. For all his talk of Freedom, we are quite unfree—and insecure.

Now the first item on this President’s agenda is to increase our insecurity. Proclaiming a crisis, he seeks to “reform” Social Security with the Social Security Destruction Act of 2005. Amazingly, he has even politicized the formerly trustworthy Social Security Administration into mailing out endorsements of his plan, possibly raising eligibility to age 70 and cutting benefits up to 46%.

Younger adults are more likely to believe the propaganda we’ve all heard, that their safety net will be gone by retirement age. But it won’t.

The facts are there, if you avoid ideological or boughtn’paidfor Bush apologists. The SS trust fund has more than $2 trillion in Government bonds. According to the gloomy Social Security Trustees, if nothing is changed, there’s more income than outgo until 2018. Even after 2018, all obligations can be met till 2042. After 2042, there’s still enough to pay 73% of benefits.

The more realistic Congressional Budget Office projects all SS benefits paid till 2052 and 81% of promised benefits thereafter. So, let’s solve this half-a-century-off problem, and fund the shortfall! A mere 0.54% of GDP will do it. That’s less than we are spending in Iraq (one solution), or about one-fourth of our Freedom President’s tax cuts, reachable by rescinding the tax cuts for half-millionaires, “people with incomes of $500,000 a year.”

We should all pay to keep our elderly, disabled and bereaved from devastated lives. But why should the rich not pay as well? Even before the Bush tax cuts, those making over $87,900 paid no Social Security taxes above that amount. We hard-working, uncomplaining, under-$87,900 flunkies pay more than 80% of the half-million-dollar crowd’s obligation. Many half-mil earners are good, charitable folk, but everyone deserves freedom to spend on sushi (or suet), or send to tsunami victims.

Even if there were a crisis, why throw safety net money to the Wall Street high-rollers who want to play their game with our cash? Ken Lay corporate criminals have stolen us blind without aggressive prosecution under the Freedom and Liberty President. They and their unindicted finance industry brethren are waiting, salivating for our big bundle of cash. After all, they paid for it (at pennies on the dollar) with their campaign contributions. They have freedom and liberty to screw us again, but more permanently this time.

Citizens, wake up! Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. This dog won’t hunt in Kansas.

Our Freedom and Liberty President could not wait in Iraq “for the final proof--the smoking gun--that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." His Weapons of Mass Destruction were really Weapons of Mass Distraction, luring us to death, debt, and destruction. How long before we recognize, there’s no stitch of clothing on those naked lies?

Call our Kansas Congressfolks today. They may be Republican, they may be conservative, but they are NOT fools. And if they are, they will surely pay dearly for taking us down with this ship.