AM I ENTITLED to ENTITLEMENTS?

I am now 64 thus I grew up being told that social security was my “retirement” program; it is not; it is another tax to fund an ever-hungry government and to buy votes by creating “entitlements” for people who never pre-paid for them. “My” government lied to me. What a surprise!

I am very angry about this but the reality is that now there is no painless way out. Oh…I’d love to sit on a committee to come up with widely-publicized ways to shrink government but I won’t hold my breath waiting for that appointment. Even if we save in non-entitlement government programs it will not be enough to bail my kids out of future debt.

I take a great deal of pride in my having made decisions throughout my life toward a financially healthy retirement and I am there in spite of the likely theft of my some portion of my social security benefits. I will enjoy life; provide for my health in spite of Obama and have enough money for leisure activities. Perhaps even a toy or two.

I think the fairest solution to social security financial and moral bankruptcy, in addition to shrinking government and its salaries, is going to have to be some reduction in my payout. My generation has benefited from expanding government over the course of the last 40 years. It is immoral to expect my kids and their kids to support my standard of living via burdensome debt payments. They have to be allowed to build their own lives free of the irresponsibility of my generation. I mean it, in contrast to the forked-tongue politicians, when I say it is cruel to saddle my kids with this debt. Thinking long and hard about how to do this equitably and make sure that we the contributors to social security are not solely burdened with funding ALL entitlements including welfare programs I believe that social security payments to all, NOT JUST THE RICH, should be reduced by amounts which are actuarially, not politically determined. Then the program ought to be privatized OR what is left of it should become constitutionally funded and protected. We know with painful certainty the politicians cannot be counted on to manage the program free of politics. There are many variables and on a good day my understanding of the finances is rudimentary but we have to make sure that our offspring are directly “saved” by any reductions in benefits we seniors have to take. Social security is but one entitlement program; the best approach includes reducing all forms of welfare (ALL FORMS including the likes of school lunches, heating assistance, subsidized housing, food stamps and welfare payments) by numbers that save significantly thus offsetting some of the burden of adequately funding social security. This way, those who contributed nothing or very little but live off the government as a life style (which is what some say I am doing by drawing social security – I disagree) will be hurt as well. If the reduced entitlement programs are not sufficient to please the bleeding hearts then we are back to the notion that it is time to rely on communities to take care of their own and service agencies will be allowed through enabling legislation, to require participation in work or volunteer activities (including volunteering in government functions which means we first have to overhaul collective bargaining in the public sector) in return for “benefits.”

The bottom line is, I am willing to live with less but I demand that those who receive money for doing nothing shall live with less as well, thus improving the chances my PRODUCTIVE sons will have to a debt-free or reduced-debt future.

Let’s get crackin’; we must have courageous, no-nonsense leadership and a new sense of accountability.

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