"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid." In addition to being a war hero, a decent fellow, a moderate Republican before they began to go extinct, President Eisenhower apparently was also quite the prophet. Little George W. Bush was about 9 years old at the time...
4 comments:
As much as I love Eisenhower, I disagree with him here.
Social security, if anything, is *not* an insurance policy. Social Security is more like the scheme of Charles Ponzi, who in the 1920s collected money from "investors" to whom he paid out large "profits" from the proceeds of later investors. The scheme inevitably collapsed when there were not enough new entrants to pay earlier ones.
GW says about SS:
"I'm going to spend a lot of time on Social Security. I enjoy it. I enjoy taking on the issue. I guess, it's the Mother in me." �April 14, 2005
I think it should be the law that tax monies be used for only that purpose for which they were collected - money is often "diverted" from the S.S. fund (among others) for other uses.
That aside, S.S. is not only for retirement. My sister had a massive, disabling stoke, at the age of 49. Aside from the fact that my apartment is too small to accomodate a wheelchair (never mind another person), I'm unable, physically and financially, to take care of her. S.S. pays for her nursing home, something I'd never be able to afford.
so that we can have more to save and invest for ourselves and our future.
Most people won't save, or cannot save because of certain circumstances. Social security was never meant to be a replacement for income...but a SUPPLEMENT and I have seen too many cases of elderly people who rely on this added benefit to make ends meet.
Not everyone is smart enough to take that money that is taken out for social security and save it themselves. Most people spend money like there is no tomorrow.
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