Letter to the editor: Ideas on Social Security/Medicare

I tire of Congress referring to Social Security and Medicare as “entitlement” programs. If you review your paycheck, you will see that FICA is your ongoing payments to Social Security. This is matched by your employer but not shown on your paycheck. You can also see the withholding for Medicare in your list of deductions. These payments were to be applied to the Social Security “trust fund.”

This fund was opened by Congress to many people who cannot view their paycheck because they do not collect one. Congress did this in order to keep being re-elected. The “trust fund” was looted. Medicare was also opened to Medicaid, which is not paid into.

If Congress wants to help we who paid into these funds, they should stop imposing the penalty of re-taxing our Social Security benefits if we have the initiative to work after receiving Social Security. This is a double taxation of money. Also allow us to deduct the entire amount of interest on student loan payments instead of capping it at $2,500.

How about the novel idea of looking at congressional pensions and lifetime health care benefits as an entitlement and see about reducing them? Why not eliminate them and have Congress qualify for Social Security and Medicare?

Patrick Caffrey

Ligonier Township