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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bread Upon The Water who wrote (240835)	12/30/2013 6:07:42 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541118

As a young single man when my parents were both working, I resented paying the FICA taxes. Then, my father died suddenly, and my mom and sister both began receiving survivor benefits from SS. I helped as much as I could, as did my two brothers, but I really appreciated the survivor benefits. My sister got through college, and my mom eventually went on SS and Medicare, but by that time, my feelings totally changed toward those programs. I guess you could say I grew out of youthful libertarian selfishness, and came to see the benefits of community. Way before I was ever "taking" myself, I felt good about paying into them. People should look at that FICA deduction and pat themselves on the back. They help other Americans with that. Perhaps Americans they know..

To: Bread Upon The Water who wrote (240835)	12/30/2013 8:37:39 PM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541118

All I'm saying i don't think the populace was ever given a choice about whether to participate (via payroll deduction) in those programs. I think your statement that those programs have broad support is an assumption that has never been put to the actual test. I can only assume that the fact members of the GOP congressional delegation will not mount a direct attack on Medicare and/or SS does not constitute data to you. If they had the least sense, given their base, that such an attack would be politically profitable, they would jump, without hesitation. It's the best evidence you could find that these programs are quite popular, sufficiently so that even the politicians clearly opposed to them, fear being tagged with trying to end them. Much stronger evidence than a poll.