Somehow it escaped me that I wrote to Wayne Gilchrest (my Congressman here, Maryland's 1st District) regarding Social Security and never put it in here. I'm sure I have it on file somewhere, and I was right. Wrote it way back on April 2nd.
Dear Congressman Gilchrest:
Recently I heard on the local radio news that you encountered quite a bit of opposition to any changes in Social Security at a recent town meeting.
I could not attend this particular meeting, but I wanted to say that I'm all for some of President Bush's changes, especially when it comes to privatization. For far too long, you and your cohorts have squandered the so-called Social Security "trust fund" and to be blunt, I trust the federal government with my retirement money about as far as I can throw it. So I'm saving money for myself already through an array of investments; precisely the method privatization of these Social Security individual accounts would achieve.
I'm not sure that the facts are getting out to the people at these town meetings. I know the AARP lobby is pumping millions into stopping any change, and that's their misguided attempt to protect their constituency. Add in the backing of the unions, and there's a lot of effort being made to preserve a broken status quo that only benefits the people who already get the lion's share of the benefits but endangers the well-being of future generations.
To that end, I'd like your assurance that private accounts are the centerpiece of any Social Security reform. It's a small first step in what I hope will be an ongoing attempt to create what President Bush termed an "ownership society"; where money that an individual earns for himself can stay in his pocket and benefit the community where he or she chooses for it to go...rather than a faceless Washington bureaucrat taking it away.
Sincerely,
Michael Swartz
Damn, I'd have to say I was pretty harsh! But today I got his reply, 3 weeks after writing my original e-mail. Knew an actual letter may have never made it to him, what with the anthrax scare and such. So here's what his letter said.
Dear Mr. Swartz,
Thank you for contacting me to express your views on Social Security reform. I was glad to hear from you.
As you are aware, there are various proposals being considered by Congress to address reforms of the Social Security program. While the President has floated suggestions on modifications he would like to see Congress support, the Administration has not offered a specific reform plan. At this time, the President is continuing to have productive conversations with Congress on various options including personal accounts and options to restore solvency.
My first priority relating to Social Security is to restore solvency to the program. I believe there is an opportunity to restructure the program to accommodate personal accounts, but we must not put the government further into debt in the process of developing that program. From my reading and conversations with leaders in this debate, I believe it is possible to both create personal accounts and restore the integrity of the program in a fiscally responsible way.
As the debate continues, I will be sure to keep your views in mind, and will make every effort to keep you informed of future developments. Thank you again for taking the time to share your views.
Sincerely,
Wayne T. Gilchrest
Member of Congress
In a lot of respects, while I'm glad he did write back, it was worth what he paid for it - and since he gets franking privileges and mails on the taxpayer dime, that's not saying much. The part that scares me most is he's trying to do this without putting the government into more debt. I read that as being open to support still higher Social Security taxes for the limited benefit of some of my money being available to me through a private account - and in the end, my higher benefits from privatization being re-taxed at some further point down the road (since Clinton began taxing Social Security benefits and no one has suggested that end).
I hope I did put in his head that there is a lot of anger on both sides. Obviously my side doesn't get the play in the liberal media while the AARP geezer gang can spew out as much BS as the papers can print. However, I know I'm right in the end. I'm hoping that private accounts are the first step in getting the government completely out of retirement. It may take 50 years and I likely won't live to see it, but I'd love to know that someday Social Security will "wither on the vine".
