WELFARE FOR OLD PEOPLE?….Is Social Security really just welfare for old people? Over at Obsidian Wings, Edward says that will happen over his dead body:
The men in my family of my father’s generation returned home after serving their country and got jobs in the local steel mills, as had their fathers and their grandfathers. In exchange for their brawn, sweat, and expertise, the steel mills promised these men certain benefits. In exchange for Social Security taxes withheld from their already modest paychecks, the government promised these men certain benefits as well.
….These were church-attending, flag-waving, football-loving, honest family men. They are rightfully proud of providing homes and educations for their children and instilling the sorts of values and manners that serve them well as adults. And if I have to move heaven and earth, now that they’ve retired, the Republican party is NOT going to redefine them as welfare recipients.
Hear hear. In fact, when his aides presented him with their initial Social Security proposals 70 years ago, FDR balked: “No dole,” he said, “mustn’t have a dole” ? because he knew instinctively that welfare programs are both fundamentally unpopular as well as corrosive to the human spirit. Conservatives understand this better than liberals, and know perfectly well that the best way to kill something is to convince the public that it’s actually a welfare program.
But that’s not what Social Security is. It’s a modestly progressive social insurance program that’s paid for by everyone and that benefits everyone. If it ever stops being that, if it ever stops being universal, it will eventually cease to exist. Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise.
