How to fix social security
5 comments February 28th, 2008
All the national politicians are talking that we have to fix social security. Unfortunately, they’re all thinking in terms of increasing the tax and reducing benefits. They don’t want to admit to thier complicity in creating the problem as it exists.
Here’s how to fix it.
First, Congress has to stop taking $1,000,000,000 per year out of the “excess” in the trust fund. The “excess” is the difference between the taxes paid in and the payout of benefits. The one billion dollars that is available for them to put into the general fund means that we are still paying in more than what is needed for the benefits. Interesting isn’t it? We hear how there isn’t enough money for the benefits, but we still have an excess in the fund.
Secondly, repeal the Medicade/Medicare bill that was written by the prescription drug industry. You know the one I mean. The one that prohibits us from buying cheaper prescription drugs from Canada that are manufactured here and exported to Canada. Those Canadians must be a lot stronger than we are because they can use the drugs that might not be safe for us. Also, there is a provision in the legislation that prohibits Medicare/Medicaid from negotiating prescription drug prices. It’s nice the way the industry was able to assure that they can continue to charge us higher prices than they charge the rest of the world.
Thirdly, let’s do away with the best retirement program in the world. You know the one that our Senators and Representatives enjoy. They put nothing into it except our tax dollars and, upon retiring, they receive the exact same pay as those who are currently sitting in Congress. What a great deal. Congress gives themselves a pay raise and the retiree’s get the same one. Perhaps if that pension was no longer available and they had to exist on Social Security, we wouldn’t have the “proplem.”I have two pensions. I wish that either one of them was like the ones our elitists in Congress have.
There is a fourth that would help save Social Security. That being that we stop giving benefits to those who have not earned them. Drug addicts and alcohol abusers are considered to be suffering from an illness. If that’s the case, give them treatment. If they don’t take advantage of it, stop the benefits they receive. I don’t know what category illegal aliens fit into but they can receive benefits too.
This may be a simple cure for what ails our Social Security system, but it seems to me that it’s one that would work.
Don R. Gugliuzza
