Chicken Little The Sky Is Falling

Dear editor:

Any first grader can tell you that when you dig a hole, the more you dig, the bigger it gets. Common sense. And, in order to close that hole you have to put dirt in. Again, common sense.

So, let’s take a look at Mr. Bush’s common sense when it comes to Social Security. He is going around the country crying Social Security is going to go bankrupt in the future, and we are digging a hole that is going to ruin the system initiated by Franklin Roosevelt. Does he recommend that we fill in that hole? No! He wants to “solve” the problem by digging further and taking money out of the system by allowing people to “privatize” their future, leaving less money to pay retirees on Social Security. The hole is getting bigger, much bigger. But, chicken little has used the scare tactic again and is telling us the “sky is falling” and Social Security is doomed without privatization. Who is he kidding?

Anyone with any common sense also would tell you that one of the worst things you can do financially is to borrow money to invest in the stock market. Financial advisors have always counseled that the market is like gambling and you should only use “extra” money that you can afford to lose. In fact when President Clinton wanted to gamble Social Security funds in the stock market the Republican members of Congress stopped him cold. And they were right. But, this president wants to borrow trillions of dollars so the average person can gamble their Social Security benefits of the future in the stock market. This is not common sense.

All in all, “privatization” has no relationship to and does not solve the problem of the need to adjust the Social Security system so that it does not have to cut back on benefits 25 to 30 years from now. We shouldn’t use that need to allow the president to help his friends in the stock market earn huge commissions and fees (that we will have to pay for, one way or the other) by creating private accounts with Social Security funds.