It sounds sadly like robbery, not justice

I feel Mr. Hoffman's letter, "Why Penalize Those That Work Hard," hit the nail on the head because I have a like story to share with you.

After finishing college and putting in two years in the army during the middle '50s, I started teaching at a local junior high for $4, 000 a year.

My wife also taught for two years before we started having our family and we saved every penny she made for a down payment on our first house.

There were many times the principal would come and say that the janitor hadn't shown up and would you like to clean the building for some extra money and the answer was always yes.

After finishing there, many nights, it was off to the park district making ice for skating or chaperoning a dance. Summer times were always filled with any job I could get.

After nine years, I got a job at a local high school teaching economics and my advice to my students was always, "invest early and often and down the road, you'll be amazed at what you have."

I followed my own advice, maxing out annuities and IRAs and buying stock and mutual funds. Today at age 75, we are living comfortably because of our foresight.

Now I hear people wanting to take more of the money we skrimped and saved for and I think of Karl Marx and his axiom, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need."

Somehow I don't think this is social justice. It sounds more like robbery.

Chuck Morgan

Arlington Heights