HOW TO FIX SOCIAL SECURITY

Let me start off by saying that I have a difficult time watching an uncontrolled Congress eat away at my income and my lifestyle every day while they spend, spend and spend. The fact that they are discussing raising the retirement age, increasing contributions and curtailing cost of living adjustments is an open and shut admission that they feel they have the unchallenged right to spend my every last dime. Mind you, they day will come when we can no longer work enough hours in the day to support their lavish spending habits and we will then all become puppets of the state.

The conversation inevitable turns to the shabby shape that Social Security is in and the need to either get rid of it or to modify it drastically. To me, that is simply more political rhetoric designed to get around the issue at our expense. Social Security can be fixed easily and simply. Here’s how:

1. The government pays back to Social Security every last nickel it has borrowed or stolen over the decades; in the future, no one can latch on to those funds. 
2. A commission is named to head the Social Security Program consisting of three members of the Senate and three from the House, of which at least two of the six must be Republican and two Democrat. In addition, the commission includes the head of Social Security and six members of the public who do not hold any government positions. They choose their own chairperson from among themselves. Terms are three year terms. 
3. No one who is drawing Social Security today has any changes whatsoever to their benefits or adjustments. 
4. The commission oversees the operations and policy-making of the department and makes legislative recommendations to the Congress. The commission may invest any excess funds on hand in high-end stocks, bonds and funds in which various government agencies are now allowed to invest. 
5. Individuals are allowed to withdraw earned benefits prior to retirement and invest them in IRA’s or similar retirement schemes providing they cannot have access to the funds until they retire. 
6. Ten percent of all money legislated for pork or earmarks will be paid into the social security fund until it is fully solvent.

Now, #1 and #6 will surely doom this idea from the get go because there’s not one single member of Congress with the family jewels to comply. And, of course, Congress will never put itself into a position where it cannot steal money from Social Security. If you think this is a joke, wait ten years and see what has happened to the federal funds that are supposed to be spent on the new Health Care programs.

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.