Letter to the Editor: Social Insecurity

By Rowland L. Anderson | Published on 12.07.2010

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I’m a little insecure about my Social Security. The baby boom is coming into the years when they will need Social Security benefits, but the government has loaned the Social Security trust fund to itself.

With an $11 trillion deficit, the government is bankrupt, so this is not reassuring. Something needs to change to make the system sustainable for future retirees.

Perhaps the first thing to establish is just what Social Security is supposed to be? Is it intended to provide security so that the retiree doesn’t starve or go on welfare? We could call this retirement security insurance. Or is it intended to be an enforced savings account that disburses the funds paid into it to the contributors at a certain age?

If the system is retirement security insurance, then those who are financially secure without payments from the Social Security trust fund should not receive them, certainly not above the amount paid into the system. Because it is called Social Security, I think this is the likely case, and recipients should be means tested before receiving benefits.

Something will have to be done before the baby boomers retire and leave the burden on the smaller group of wage-earners following them.

Rowland L. Anderson
Santa Barbara

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