SOCIAL SAFETY NET
“Upper classes are a nation’s past; the middle class is its future.”
~ Ayn Rand, Russian-American Novelist, Playwright
One of my brothers used to have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning to attend school. Eventually, I would just let him sleep in thinking if he wanted to go to school than he would get up and go. My parents didn’t agree with my “tough love” idea but I think my brother’s superiors in the US Army would have thanked me.
Thanks to a loving family, an ever growing spiritual foundation and yes, the discipline provided by the best military in the world, my brother successfully joined the middle class. Not everyone is that lucky.
I believe in making your own way, self employment when possible and the overall taking of calculated risks. We are the home of the brave after all and besides, you only live once. Our generation was never promised a career, a job or even a stable home. We have adapted regardless and for those of us who are capable, capitalism has made us stronger. But not everyone is that lucky.
In 1935, at the height of the Great Depression, the Social Security Act was passed to counteract the ill effects of capitalism. It was meant to offset the burdens of old age, high unemployment, widows and children without fathers. Since then, its purpose and mechanics have changed and greatly expanded.
FACT: Social Security is not bankrupt.
Our Federal government has always had control of how and when to source revenue to pay out the benefits of this program. Over the years the United States Congress has enacted laws that have made the program more robust and sometimes less solvent; congress can fix those problems.
As your Congressman I will work to save the Social Security program for future generations.
In 1935 the Social Security program serviced a very small audience of beneficiaries. Many minorities, women and people holding certain professions were not initially intended beneficiaries. By the 1960′s that all changed. By the 1970′s, high interest rates and stagflation threw off the mechanics of how Social Security paid for itself. In the 1980′s the tool of the “Social Security Trust Fund” became part of a path to save the program from our aging demographics. We can continue to innovate the program.
Here’s what we need to maintain solvency and recreate surpluses:
- Get people back to work in the US to broaden the (payroll tax) base
- Remove the wage base cap of $110,100 and/or allow for an “opt out” provision
- Change the law so the social security fund can be invested in higher earning securities
The above options taken alone or together will provide the confidence we all need to address the other challenges of our “safety net” programs. This does not have to be a wedge issue amongst our political leaders. The Social Safety Net MATTERS.
