Entitlement? - Deserve?

At 77 years young I receive a monthly Social Security check. I feel that I earned it, and I deserve it, much the same way an employee gets a paycheck every week.

Recently someone told me that my Social Security check is a "gift", and/or an "entitlement" from our government. Of course I disagreed.

Since I was a teenager a deduction was taken from my paycheck and sent to our government. Along with my different employers along the years, it amounted to 15% of my gross income every month sent to our government.

I was fortunate to maintain above average salaries in my over forty years of employment.  As a result I receive the maximum allowed by the Social Security Administration.

For purposes of explaining our Social Security checks let take a person who averages $30,000. per year for 49 years. Along with his employer(s) distribution a total of $4,500 a year would be sent to our government. That totals $220,500 for a 49 year working period. 

Now let's take that $4,500. and calculate it at 5% growth for 49 years, which is, by the way, less than what our government pays on the money it borrows. After 49 years of working a person would have $892,919.98 in their Social Security account for distribution.

And, if you only took 3% out a person would receive $26,787.60 a year or approximately $2,300. per month. That money would last more than 30 years.

Here's something you may find interesting. How's your memory? Remember when former President Bush wanted to privatize Social Security and the Democrat controlled House & Senate shot it down?

Well, if a person making $30,000. a year would have taken the 15% that he/she and his employer put in their monthly fund, and put the money in a lowly 4% annuity the person averaging $30,000. yearly salary would have a LIFETIME income of $2,976.40 per month.

The entire Social Security Administration should occupy a cell next to Bernie Madoff.  This is a bigger Ponzi scheme than Madoff could have ever concocted. 

Then the government committed the most horrible, unforgiven sin. After the American people were promised this pool of Social Security money would never be touched, they "borrowed" from this pool, and have never paid it back.

And they have the gall to profess that my monthly Social Security check is a "gift" or entitlement, or worse yet a handout or form of charity. That is MY money. I paid my hard earned cash for my monthly Social Security check.

Want to add insult to injury?  Most of the money that our government borrowed from our Social Security Administration went to billions of dollars to Haiti, Chile, Turkey, and now Pakistan. do we need to be reminded that Pakistan is the country that harbored bin Laden?

I would also like to question what does the government do with the money of an individual's account if the person dies before they retire, or dies within a year or two of their retirement.
Where does this money disappear to? 

We keep getting reminded by our government that Social Security is getting close to being broke and there may not be enough to issue Social Security checks in the near future. But nothing is ever said that we may have to cut our billions of dollars in aid to foreign countries.

Wouldn't it be nice if our government gave the same support to its seniors, that paid into Social Security, that it does to our foreign aid?  Maybe it is time to privatize our monthly Social Security deductions.

Sorry for the lengthy blog, but don't tell me my monthly Social Security check is a gift from the government. I earned it. 

And that's Politics with Pete for today.