Beware, a certain faction (see May 23 Commentary by Cal Thomas) is once again trying to create doubt and fear about the future of Social Security, while offering so-called solutions.
But check the facts: entitlements, more accurately termed earned benefits, are not actually the main drivers of our national debt.
In fact, Social Security has its own dedicated revenue stream so it cannot contribute a penny to the federal deficit.
In contrast, recall the recent huge federal tax cut, supported by these same folks, that benefits the wealthiest and greatly increases our national debt per the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget “Tax cut and spending bill could cost 5.5 trillion through 2029.”
Most of Mr. Thomas’s solutions, no matter how you crunch the numbers, would amount to cuts in benefits, while currently 1 in 6 Americans depend on Social Security.
Yes, it is critical that we make our lawmakers accountable for maintaining and updating this vital program.
Positive reforms, not cuts, will keep it healthy.
Lets defend and strengthen it so that we, and future generations, can all live in dignity when we retire or become disabled.
For more information, the public is invited to “Making Retirement Security Real for All” at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 9, at Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Lisa Dekker,
Port Angeles