The Government ‘Entitlement’ Scheme

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I noted, once again, in one of our local liberal news papers editorials on Presidents Day that Social Security and Medicare were once again referred to as “entitlements,” The editorial once again referred to  Social Security and Medicare  as “entitlements,” as if

The recipients, of these programs are somehow receiving something for nothing, in other words, “welfare.”  These characterizations are far from the truth and do a great disservice particularly to honest Americans who pay or have paid into and participated in these programs.  In fact, these programs, were started as insurance plans, by the federal government that receive premiums from hardworking people and pay benefits upon sickness or retirement. The point to be made here is, the recipients are receiving benefits that they paid for. The people had no say in these programs. The federal government deducted it out of the people’s pay check every week.  The government deducted these funds out of my pay check for fifty years.

Common sense will tell a person that this widespread “entitlement” description and categorization is being used and employed as a strategy and maneuver to hid the looting of these program reserves, make possible “privatization” or steer clear of the fact that these programs are being allowed to violate the principles of insurance. That is the pool of premiums plus reserves should be sufficient to cover current and future benefits. We have seen continuous avoidance by Washington of the need to either raise premiums or reduce benefits by increasing the eligibility age or reducing payments. We as a nation need to maturely address these programs not cast negative aspersions or an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone who have, worked and paid their Social Security and Medicare taxes all their life.

For the readers who do not know this, Social Security and Medicare was started by the federal government to provide people with retirement benefits when the people retired. It was a law. You could not just not pay into it, you had to by law and that same law applies today. Look at your paycheck. This money, according to the government was to go into a lock box not to be touched by the government and to be used only for the purpose of paying out retirement checks to people who have paid into it all their life.  The government needed the money because of their over spending and like a thief broke into that lock box and never replaced the money.  It was your money and the government just took it.

The other problem is we are now faced with is the problem of illegal’s coming across the border and for some reason they can cash in on these benefits without paying one penny into the program.  This is wrong.  We also have thousands of Americans who would not work in a pie shop tasting pies, which are receiving disability benefits when they should be out working.  The government would have you believe that there are more people retiring than there is paying into the system.  This is not so and a blind man can see what is happening.

If the money, which is paid into social security, was used to pay only the people that are qualified to get it there would be enough to go around. I hope all who pay into or receive benefits from these programs remember this at election time.  Social Security was a good system until it was used for things other than what it was truly intended for.