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Last month, I received my first Social Security retirement payment. I turned sixty-five recently, so I figured I’d go for it. Now I’ll receive a modest installment on or around the fourth Wednesday of every month—until such time as I croak.
It feels good to have that income. But I have to admit that, when I first noticed that the payment landed in my bank account, I felt a bit guilty. It seemed un-American to be accepting money for doing nothing.
It’s hard for me to imagine our society ever totally regressing to the days before Social Security, when no one who wasn’t stinkin’ rich was guaranteed a damn thing.
Fortunately, I gave myself a good scolding and got over that silly attitude real quick. I reminded myself that I’ve actually been working and paying into the Social Security fund for decades for this very purpose, so I’m just getting what I deserve. But even if I hadn’t worked and paid, I’d still be getting what I deserve. I think I’ve earned a bit of a break just by making it this far. Any money that you have to wait decades to collect is hard-earned.
So I’m glad I took the leap. If I hadn’t, it’s inevitable that some day, while reflecting on my life on my deathbed, I would have realized that the money was sitting there waiting for me, but I didn’t grab it. And I would’ve felt like a real chump. But now that I’m on the receiving end of Social Security, I want to live to be 500 so I can get my money’s worth.
I told all of this to my friend Landon, age twenty-two. He congratulated me and then said he was convinced that Social Security will be long gone by the time he’s old enough to collect.
He’s not the first young person that I’ve heard say that. And my reaction is always to give them a reassuring scoff. People were saying that back when I was twenty-two, and Social Security is still alive and well.
One of the most heartening political realities is that, for elected officials, messing with Social Security is like foolishly playing with fire. I know if some powerful people had their way, Social Security would be dead, or at least have one foot in the grave. The forces of abject greed and their lacky legislators are tortured by the fact that there’s a pot of money as huge as the Social Security trust fund that they can’t raid. They’d rather see us all surrendering that money to them in the form of purchasing a 401(k) or something like it.
But even they, in all of their omnipotence, can only get so far. They run into a buzzsaw of angry citizens who like the socialist idea of Social Security just fine. When you mess with it, you mess with them in a very personal way.
It’s hard for me to imagine our society ever totally regressing to the days before Social Security, when no one who wasn’t stinkin’ rich was guaranteed a damn thing. I know that the annual report on the solvency of the Social Security retirement fund was just released, and it says that, with the way things are going, the fund will only be able to make payments at 76 percent of the promised levels after the year 2033. But it also says that there are a number of things Congress can do to address the shortfall, and the sooner it acts, the better.
Social Security will endure as long as citizens continue to adamantly believe they are entitled to its guarantees and firmly demand that Congress keep it going strong.
I’m here to tell you, young people, that when you reach the day when you finally start receiving your Social Security retirement payments, it’s pretty damn satisfying. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.