Social Security is not welfare

Let me first start out by saying God bless all of you who have served this country past and present. I, like you and every other American citizen enjoy the right of free speech.

But this garbage about entitlements being the root of everything bad in this country needs to stop right now.

In the July 2 Fence Post, we had a serviceman telling everybody entitlements were the reason that he and other soldiers did not have enough troops in Afghanistan. Wake up, son, the President along with the chief of staff decide who goes where and who gets what as far as equipment. By the way, our soldiers have much better equipment than the men in Vietnam had.

Certainly the number of troops needed in Afghanistan could have been supplemented by a draw down in Germany, Japan, the U.K. or Italy. But no, let’s blame the middle class senior Americans who have paid into Social Security all the years they were employed.

Social Security is not welfare. We paid for it.

Could the problem be wasteful government spending or the military being overcharged by contractors?

Maybe we could save millions of dollars by not bombing Libya. C’mon.

By the way, son, where do you think a large part of the money came from to fund the war? If you said Social Security, you would be right. Every time the government overspends you hear “Let’s cut Social Security.” We didn’t have these problems the two terms that President Clinton was in office.

I appreciate your service to your country, but remember this is an all-volunteer army. You did not join without expecting to get something in return. This is not like Vietnam, where our forces were drafted into the service and then spit on and called baby killers when they returned home.

You sound like a military lifer; how about giving up your pension?

Let’s ask our senators and congressman to give up their pensions and insurance while we’re at it.

Let’s ask Congress for real immigration reform and quit paying for illegal immigrants’ health care. Let’s quit paying for Air Force One and the security for the president so he can talk to Oprah.

Just so we can set the record straight, I am not on Social Security.

Michael Kerber

Dundee Township