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Congress spending Social Security

Jim Niday

Jun. 18, 2014 5:40 pm

Imagine that part of your retirement plan was to put money into a trust that a relative set up for you. For decades the trust grew quite nicely.

Later on, that relative began to spend all his income and went into considerable debt. He borrowed and borrowed, so much in fact that he began to borrow to pay on his earlier loans. But he never cut his spending to pay down his past debts. Then one day he came to you and asked to borrow from your trust savings. Would you lend him the money?

Well, your relative is the U.S. Congress and your retirement trust is Social Security. He has no way to repay your loan except to borrow from someone else. And he never asked you to loan him from your savings trust.

Jim Niday

Cedar Rapids

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