Savings up to the individual

Seriously addressing the March 12 Charles Krauthammer column, when do entitlement programs such as Social Security, which was originally intended as a publicly funded social safety net for the poor, become an entitlement program for the middle class and the wealthy? Probably when the middle class and the wealthy demanded that the government turn Social Security into a socialized pension program. Thus moving this entitlement program well beyond its original targeted demographic.

Thus, for true reform to start taking place, Social Security should first be targeted for people who struggle to make a living. But for everyone else, what is stopping the rest of you from starting a savings account, buying savings bonds, putting money into IRAs, CDs to money markets or setting up a 401(k) at your place of work? The more you can plan to save for your own future, the less likely you might see Social Security as a publicly funded pension?

Joan E. Harman

Dalton Gardens