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Recently Lee Bowers wrote a letter asking where our retirement fund had gone. He specifically noted how the Social Security fund is being handled. I say "amen" to him; for years this has been a pet peeve of mine.
One can hear politicians of every stripe lament daily that Social Security is going broke, but none seem to offer any solutions other than really silly ones that will never happen. They keep telling us there is not enough money coming in to sustain it in the near future. The answer is quite simple but none of them will touch it.
Let's say in 2005, I knew I would need a new car in five years and prepared for this by putting X amount of money in a coffee can each month. But instead of money in the can each month, I put in an IOU. My car breaks down in 2010, I go to the coffee can and pull out a bunch of worthless paper. I then cry and moan that I need a car and can't get one.
As Mr. Bowers noted, this is exactly what our leaders have been doing for decades. Instead of having a dedicated fund for the contributions we have made to Social Security, the money has been dumped into the general fund. This was and is still being done in order to mitigate deficits and spend the money on the politicians pet programs. This makes the yearly budget they come up with nothing but a farce and year after year, we the people, let them get away with it without a peep.
The only politician to address this issue in recent times was Al Gore during his campaign for president. He was soundly ridiculed by the news pundits and other politicians.
If we stopped this deceptive practice today I am not sure we can save the fund from going broke, but it's sure worth a try. As long as we sit by let them rob us without a word, they will continue to do so.
I currently am on Social Security and it's a fine program, I would like to see it be available for my grandchildren. The answer is not privatization but proper administration of the fund.
Wilburn Morris
Gainesville