Social Security perils

A brief history of one of the many social programs started by FDR: during the Great Depression from 1929 to the beginning of World War II, the socialists, communists and labor unions were on the verge of starting a revolution (Russia had already had one in 1917) if the federal government did nothing to help the plight of the masses of U.S. citizens. So FDR taxed the big corporations and the rich. After World War II the corporations and the rich took their revenge. All of a sudden the Russian communists were the new enemies of the USA, even though they were our allies to defeat the National Socialist Party (Nazis). Next came the socialists and the unions.

Which brings us to the current situation, and why the Republicans and Democrats want to privatize the Social Security fund. The Congress has bankrupted the fund by taking $2.9 trillion out of it and invested this money into government special-issue bonds and certificates of indebtedness. Some day whoever invested their money in these special-issue bonds and certificates will want their investments back. Then what? Our national debt has reached $23.16 trillion with no end in sight; the Social Security fund will have disappeared without a trace.

John Wodynski

Cheney