Social Security is an insurance

Social Security is not an investment, it's an insurance. By the logic that it is an investment is like the logic that your other insurance is an investment. Medical, Home owners, Auto, Fire, Theft, Liability. I think we can agree that all the other insurance you might carry is necessary but it is not an investment, it's insurance. And for the record, Social Security absolutely pays benefits at any age you are disabled and if you are killed it pays benefits to your survivors. I encourage everyone to invest independently in your future but not at the expense of trying to live without insurance. And like most insurance Social Security can and does pay benefits that exceed contributions because some people die early and receive reduced benefits. And if you and your wife had invested your Social Security money in Enron or World Com, how much would you be retiring on today? Social Security doesn't pay much but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye that Enron and World Com and many other companies that disappeared when the bubble burst, pays it's investors.

James Bonner
Mount Vernon

Letters to the Editor - Skagit Valley Herald