Social Security, the Joke That Ain't Funny

By Tom Maloy

When Social Security was first proposed back in the 1930s, the story went, “Social Security? Sounds like a joke and it ain’t funny.” The comeback was, “Well, that’s because you won’t get it until you’re 65.”

Well I guess you had to have been there.

My Dad said it got a lot of laughs during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration, but I didn’t see the humor in it when Dad told it to me nearly 60 years ago.

A lot of water has gone beneath the bridge since then, and I have been receiving Social Security for several years now. So you could say, I “get it.”

I’m living the joke and it still ain’t funny. Most of my acquaintances here in Powder Springs are of the same opinion. 

When Social Security was signed into law, it was not expected to be a retirement fund, but a safety net for old codgers who didn’t have the sense to save for when they would be to decrepit to work. 

Sixty-five was chosen as the target age because in those days, most people who lived that long were truly decrepit. Few people lived much beyond that, so the government could depend on a surplus in what was then a separate account that segregated Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payments from the general fund. 

Almost immediately after the law passed, the political harlots of Washington recognized the unlimited potential for vote-buying that existed in the burgeoning Social Security fund. They began adding all sorts of bells and whistles to the program, ostensibly to help widows, children and, of course, us old codgers. 

In the decades that followed, more and more people came into the system. People were just living longer than expected—who knew? 

Concurrently, Lyndon Johnson, in order to fund his disastrous “war on poverty,” desegregated the Social Security and general funds. Money, meant to keep the old codgers happy was spent on placating the poor—after all, they vote too. 

Well, we lost the war on poverty. There is a higher percentage of poor people in this country today than during the Johnson administration. And the Congressional Budget Office says that Social Security will be totally bankrupt within 15 years. 

But that’s no big deal, because if our government doesn’t do something about spending, including that for entitlements like Social Security, the entire country will be in bankruptcy long before that.   

So here’s the deal: The conservative House of Representatives and Rep. Paul Ryan in particular have proposed a plan that will cut spending and, over time, reduce entitlement costs. The plan is expected to balance the budget, reduce the annual $1.5 trillion deficit, and keep our $14.5 trillion debt under control. 

Many politicians on the left don’t like it because it reduces their ability to buy votes. And while they are hard pressed to find fault with cutting waste in discretionary spending, they are demagoguing the issue of Social Security reform. 

In case you are wondering what a demagogue is, here is a quote from the Greek philosopher Aristophanes: “A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue.”

So the rogues on the left are willing to let our country go down the tubes because they are either uneducated, dishonest or both. Their favorite tactic is to frighten retired people or those approaching retirement into believing that their Social Security will be “killed.”

The Liberal Left is lying to us. There is nothing in Paul Ryan’s plan or any other plan offered by the conservatives that in any way changes benefits for these groups. The only group that will be affected would include those under age 55. 

But they would still receive benefits, only at a slightly increased target age. The plan also would allow younger workers to contribute to a personal retirement account, which would actually pay more at retirement than would Social Security. 

These are not perfect plans, but they are a start and we old codgers shouldn’t be afraid of them. Contrary to what the liberals say, these plans may very well save our benefits, not kill them. 

The liberals have no alternative plan other than to do nothing, and that means that Social Security will go bankrupt and disappear within 15 years. 

The choice is simple: You can support real Social Security reform and save the program for yourself and your grandkids, or you can believe the liberal lies and watch it die on the vine and your benefits with it. 

And that’s no joke.

Tom Maloy, a retired businessman and 30-year Powder Springs resident, is a board member of the Georgia Tea Party. Contact him at tom@thegeorgiateaparty.org.