Photo: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the law enacting Social Security on August 14, 1935.
Certain Americans may have celebrated the 90th anniversary of Social Security on August 14.
But not me. I was too depressed to celebrate.
The people working in the White House have even more reasons to feel depressed, but they nevertheless posted an upbeat celebratory message.
On the 90th anniversary of the establishment of this historic program, I recommit to always defending Social Security, rewarding the men and women who make our country prosperous, and taking care of our own workers, families, seniors, and citizens first.
I assume the President — age 79 — is collecting Social Security, given his obvious affection for the greenback dollar. And many of the other people who were celebrating last week are no doubt benefiting from this historic program, which made clear, finally, America’s embrace of Socialism.
But you pretty much have to be a humor columnist writing for a tiny online news magazine to refer to Social Security as ‘Socialism’. Hardly anyone serving in Congress, for example, could suggest such a definition. Maybe Bernie or AOC. But certainly, no Republican would suggest such a correlation.
But let’s be real. The government takes a chunk of my paycheck — without my permission — and gives the money to retired Congressmen and retired steel workers and retired short order cooks, so they can spend their sunset years playing golf. If that ain’t Socialism, kindly tell me what is.
That’s not why I hate Social Security, however. I actually approve of Socialism, because I think old people should have time to play golf. There aren’t many perks to being old, and playing golf is one of them. Also, pickleball.
The reason I hate Social Security is not the “Social” part, but the “Security” part.
Being “social” is absolutely okay. Except maybe social media. In my humble opinion, “social” is the essence of “Social Security” and also “Socialism”. It’s the very core of Socialism, in fact.
Rather, the problem with Social Security is that it’s not actually ‘secure’. Not even close.
Sure, it seemed ‘secure’ in 1935, back when people were still having lots of children. Those children — so many children! — were growing up and entering the workforce, and sharing a chunk of their paychecks with older Americans who were then able to play golf. (Pickleball had not yet been invented.)
But then along comes ‘Women’s Liberation’ and birth control pills and ‘Pro-Choice’ and… well, people stopped having big families. No one was thinking about the effect this trend was going to have on the Social Security trust fund.
I completely understand a woman choosing not to be pregnant. Maybe not completely, but as much as a male person can understand the 18-year project a woman takes on, when she has a baby.
And I completely understand the U.S. government dipping their toes into Socialism in 1935, when they created Social Security. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
But without young workers depositing, collectively, billions of dollars into the Social Security trust fund every year, the program is headed for insolvency.
The Social Security actuary recently projected that, as the result of the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, Social Security will become insolvent in late 2032.
I’m sure the people responsible to making that announcement have already been fired. But that doesn’t make it any less worrisome.
I will turn 61 this year. If I decide to apply for Social Security when I’m 67, I can get full 100% benefits from all the money I poured into the trust fund during my working life. Supposedly.
That would be in 2031.
If I waited until age 70 and claim “enhanced benefits” (124%), that would be in year 2034.
But thanks to the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, and the women not having enough babies, it appears that Social Security is going to be insolvent in 2032. And that’s assuming the economy stays healthy. It could be even sooner.
I suppose, by now, my readers can understand why I hate Social Security. I’ve been working as a journalist since 1984, paying into the federal trust fund with every paycheck, only to find out that the program is going belly up just as my retirement age arrives.
I’m not going to blame FDR and the Democrats who created Social Security in 1935. They had no idea what the future held. Nor will I blame the non-pregnant women.
But it looks like I may as well sell my golf clubs.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.