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Once upon a time, a young father was daydreaming during his lunch break. He was a robust man who had never been sick a day in his life.
He had a beautiful wife, a 6-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. The postwar building boom was in full swing and, as a skilled electrician, the future looked very bright (no pun intended).
Unbeknownst to him, a blood clot from somewhere in his body had broken loose and was heading inexorably toward his heart. Five minutes later, he was dead. Fortunately, his widow and children lived in a compassionate land and every month a check from the Social Security Administration arrived. Although they lived in reduced circumstances, the young family was never homeless or hungry, and they lived securely ever after.
I was that 6-year-old boy. Thank you, taxpayers. Fast forward to 2015. President Bush's lies and exaggerations have worked (again) and Social Security has been privatized. "Piratized" is a better term.
The guaranteed part of Social Security has dropped below subsistence level. A young father dies. After only 10 years, his family has a small private account, even though they invested wisely and the markets didn't tank. How soon before that private account is gone and the family is homeless?
Conservatives dismiss the poor for making bad choices. What did this family do wrong? Why are we replacing a guarantee with a gamble?
Speak up before Social Security becomes only a fairy tale.
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