Whiners Misunderstand the Idea Behind Social Security
Re “Fighting for What They Are Entitled To” (Dec. 27): All this whining about how the poor future generations will be “ripped off” by not having a safety net because of my generation’s greed is pure bunk.
Where were the cries for Social Security means testing when the money was being taken out of my checks over a 40-year working period? Even if I can say I don’t really need Social Security income to survive, so what? I was never given the privilege of declining to contribute.
How in the world do the whiners think we became eligible to collect in the first place? In this grandfather’s case, it was by working my tail off in a sometimes maligned industry called aerospace.
What this country does not know or appreciate is just how hard many of us did work. Thousands of us worked millions of hours of uncompensated overtime to put a man on the moon, put up Skylab and fly the space shuttle.
In other words, we gladly worked long and hard, supported the community, raised our families, paid our bills and taxes, and contributed to the Social Security program without complaining.
JOHN P. MATTEI
Long Beach
*
Your article on the younger generation’s discontent with Social Security leads me to believe the real problem is a lack of understanding of what Social Security is meant to be.
It is not an investment program, but rather a social insurance plan. Like insurance, it pays out money when a particular need arises.
Most of us buy car insurance, home insurance or health insurance, yet there is no outraged citizenry demanding their money back when the car isn’t wrecked, the house doesn’t burn down or they remain in good health.
Social Security taxes pay for protection. As such, some will receive far in excess of what they pay in and others will get less--just as with other insurance.
For example, a young worker employed for just a few years may be killed in an accident and leave a widow and six kids who will receive monthly Social Security payments for 18 or more years.
DON RYERSON
San Pedro
