How Much Do You Know About Social Security and the COLA?

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

 

On August 14, 1935, the greatest President in history signed the Social Security Act. Contributions from both employer and employee would guarantee every working man and woman an income after retirement. It would cost the federal government nothing.

Everything our government tells you is a lie, or at best a ‘half-truth.’ I know because I am one of 66 million American seniors who receive Social Security. Many of us have no other income than what we receive from our many years of participation in the only perfect law in our nation’s history. For our entire working lives we and our employers participated in the program, a plan intended to be self-sustaining. However, our corrupt government began diverting funds designed to provide for the retirement of our oldest citizens almost immediately, and in the 21^st century our only source of income is in danger of experiencing alterations which could adversely affect our most vulnerable citizens. This is another attack on programs which would benefit a large number of our citizens and not the super-rich.

In 2022 we received an 8.5 percent increase in the Cost of Living Adjustment. Biden and his administration boasted about the increase, and Repbulicans denounced it. The truth is that my calculations prove that Greedflation and other increases, including insurance and utilities resulted in a cost of living increase between 12 and 20 percent, depending on where you live.

No one in power over the American people can be trusted. If you ask why, the truth is simple. America is no longer a country, it is a business. Instead of the motto, From Many, One, our leaders believe in “Profit Before People.”

My wife and I began working as teenagers. Often we were forced to take whatever was given us. Although we were both excellent students, we could not afford a college education. Not unlike many men and women in our age group, we struggled to survive on our own. We wanted to and had to work to provide housing, clothing and food for ourselves and sometimes others.

We gave everything to our employers, although we frequently hated our jobs. Never once in my 60 years of working for a living was I comfortable. I could not survive without that next paycheck. Every time I believed I had found a career, I was mistaken. Only once did I feel appreciated for my efforts, when I was self-employed.  And even then my business partners took advantage of me and I parted ways with them, feeling betrayed.

I have never been “given” anything. However, the a**holes on the right side of the aisle refer to Social Security as an “entitlement.” I worked for every dollar I receive, and the truth is that I will never collect the total amount placed into my account in my lifetime. My monthly checks should be 25 percent more simply to keep up with the cost of living.

Since the industrial revolution our government has ignored the majority, and supported capitalists who placed profits in priority number one.

I once laughed when I heard a politician claim that “America is the greatest country in the world.” It’s no longer humorous. Unbridled capitalism has led to the plutocracy which controls our daily lives in the 21^st century. America is only a “great” country for about five percent of our nation’s people. Ours is the most expensive nation in the world.

At the age of 77, I have grown from being a patriot to a man who knows too much and is ashamed of his government, and therefore his country.

I will forever be thankful for FDR. As the only President in history to place people first, I am aware that without Social Security, my wife and I could be homeless. It was a perfect plan until corrupt politicians literally stole money from it to fund their own “pet projects,” designed to win elections.

This is one of many reasons, being a “professional politician” is the worst and most corrupt job in the world.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Find my nine novels here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/James-Turnage/author/B00LOCJ2Z2?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true