Still getting it wrong on Social Security

Helen Thomas:

Social Security is not a handout. Workers and employers contribute jointly through payroll taxes. Social Security had become part of the American economic fabric. And the Bush administration should stop treating Social Security as if it were just another government program.
What exactly is Social Security, Ms. Thomas, if not a handout? That’s exactly what it is. There are no “accounts”. There is no “lockbox”. The monies for Social Security go in to and come out of the general fund. The government robs Peter to pay Paul. It’s a handout.
Employers contribute nothing to Social Security. Just ask the millions of self-employed businesspeople in this country, who have to pay the full load. The “half” of Social Security employers “pay” is simply monies never seen by the employee. That’s one reason why more people aren’t up in arms over Social Security reform. They don’t understand how much of their money is going to this increasingly wasteful handout, because they never see that money in the first place. And even if that money was going to the employee, it would be going to some person, either the business owner or shareholders. Businesses never pay taxes. People do.
Finally, Social Security is “just another government program.” Like many such programs, it had its time, when it was needed, but that time is past. There are so many options out there for investors to save money through, that will offer greater returns than Social Security ever will. (Not to mention that with the increasing reduction in benefits people have seen over the decades, it’s not very secure, is it?)
Some pols need to have the guts to grandfather Social Security and kill it. It’s the only reasonable and sane thing to do so our great-grandchildren aren’t having to deal with it.