Social Security is a very complex topic and there are many misconceptions about it.
Letter writer Frank Brunner noted several misconceptions in “Repeal system” (Voice of the people, Jan. 26).
He stated, “Our present Social Security system is a very poor investment.”
Social Security is not an investment; it is a tax, pure and simple.
It is a redistribution of wealth from those who have earned income now, to those who are earning less or nothing in retirement.
It is designed only to help support anyone who paid into the system, whether the recipients were “working poor” or not.
There are many low-income people now who depend on the Social Security checks they receive each month.
Social Security may be “oppressive,” as Brunner also stated, but only because it is a regressive tax.
It can be a burden on those with lower earnings, since it is essentially a flat tax and not a progressive tax like our current income tax.
To replace Social Security with private accounts, however, would do the opposite of what Brunner suggests.
The working poor would have very small accounts because their wages are lower. They would then have a very small nest egg when retirement comes.
While Social Security can be improved, taking contributions away from those who have more need so the wealthy can build their nest eggs is not the way to do it.
