Eleanor A. Kassell – 9/10/04

This page was last updated on September 18, 2004.

Don't mess with entitlements; Eleanor A. Kassell; Beaver County Times; September 10, 2004.

Ms. Kassell doesn’t appear to understand that Socialist Security and Medicare are Ponzi schemes doomed to failure from the beginning.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“This is in response to Alan Greenspan and his suggestion to skim the benefits of the baby boomers.

“Yes, I am a baby boomer, and I resent the idea that all of a sudden the federal government has realized that soon many baby boomers will be eligible for Social Security and Medicare.

“Where was the federal government decades ago? Out to lunch with the baby boomers’ money?”

[RWC] I too am a “boomer.”

No offense, Ms. Kassell, but if you are a boomer and you haven’t yet figured out Socialist Security and Medicare are Ponzi schemes, you’re a little slow.

The taxes we pay are not stashed away waiting for us to retire. The taxes workers pay today are used to pay for benefits for current retirees. Taxes paid by those people working when we retire are supposed to pay for our benefits.

“Surely, they have known this has been approaching for decades. Why have they waited so long before deciding to all of a sudden address this issue?”

[RWC] Of course they (politicians) did, but as long as there were a lot more workers paying SS and Medicare taxes than retirees receiving benefits, they felt no pressure to hold the line on benefits. As a result, many “pre-boomers” received far more in benefits than they ever paid in taxes. For example, the first person to receive a monthly SS benefit paid only $22.75 in SS taxes, but received $22,888.92 in benefits! Even my father was an example with Medicare. My Dad paid Medicare taxes for only seven years, but he received Medicare benefits for 21 years.

“What have they done with all the money the baby boomers have paid into Social Security and Medicare for the last several decades?”

[RWC] As I mentioned above, the taxes we paid were used to pay benefits for current retirees.

“How dare Greenspan act as though this is something given to the baby boomers when we have worked and paid into these systems for decades.

[RWC] Don’t jump on Greenspan; he’s only the messenger. All he did was point out that at the current rate, either SS and Medicare taxes would need to increase or benefits would need to decrease to keep the programs solvent. Of these two evils, decreasing benefits is the lesser.

“I feel the federal government should give us baby boomers what we have already paid into these systems and let us invest it for our retirement because the federal government is obviously not too concerned about what will happen to us baby boomers in the upcoming decades.”

[RWC] Too late. Much of what we paid has already been paid out in benefits for current and previous retirees.

“Greenspan and the federal government should be held accountable for where all our money has gone, and it has not all gone to cover those who are now entitled to Social Security and Medicare.”

[RWC] Why does Ms. Kassell keep blaming Mr. Greenspan? The Federal Reserve has no control over government spending.

“Politicians should not be allowed to dip into the Social Security cookie jar any time they feel like it and waste what we the baby boomers have worked so hard for.

“This problem was created through no fault of our own, and now we are being told we need to correct it by Greenspan. At one time, the working people of America looked forward to retirement. But with the federal government, that is no more.”

[RWC] In my 20s I decided I would not rely on any government for my financial security during retirement. I don’t believe you can be dependent on government for financial and be free. I based my retirement plans on the assumption I would receive little or no SS and Medicare benefits. As a result, these programs could go belly up and would have little effect on my retirement finances. That said, I don’t want to see these programs go bust because far too many people would be hurt. We need an orderly phase-out.