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COM M E NTARY Thursday, September 30, 1999 - Page 5 Quirks: Pro and Con: Should we retain the Just like Social Security System? one ofus Pro: Tara DelIaFranzia there is a large and un- the government Furthermore, could Anne Butler describes a Within thirty years, the supports the continuation solution to the problem at hand. the retired, stress on the family. necessary generational perspective on nation's Social Security fund will so of Social Security. invest anonymously and in the fa- In short, we would have to gen- Why are citizens be depleted. companies. the universal horrors of worried? more than the social security per- vor of domestic government-created erate a separate organization who for handling the affairs of citizens To avoid warfare. The Social Security tax was centage of income for their retire- monopolies and conflicts with did not save. Creating such an or- originally created to help the ment, that is their right. other nations, there would be a limit Jack Kelley came and spoke at country crawl out of the deepest There is no need to adjust the on the ti me that the government ganization would be expensive and OUf campus this week in McDaniel financial depression in history. tax simply so a citizen can make would be permitted to invest before would use more tax money, thus de- feating the purpose. Lounge. Jack is a foreign corre- This system works. investments with the core funding attempting an alternative solution. Would we otherwise leave our spondent for USA Today. As we see today. many senior they will need in later years. If the If the poor were not being taxed ill-prepared citizens to starve on the He's been allover the world and citizens live less worrisome lives citizen produces enough money to for Social Security, they would in- covered everything from the Gulf knowing that (hey saved money generate tax, the citizen produces deed have enough to save for re- street? Do our retired citizens not de- War to Kosovo. He brought with him two dia- ries, one of a 16-year-old girl forced Would we otherwise leave our ill-prepared citizens to starve on the street? Do our to flee her home, another of an Iraqi retired citizens not deserve the right to a comfortable life after serving in the work soldier that died in the Gulf War. There was a photo of many teen- force? We must maintain Social Security to avoid the social repercussions. agers in the girl's diary. They all wore jeans and T-shirts while working because of the enough money to invest on their and looked like, well, teenagers. mandatory tax. own. rirement. Many people of all finan- serve the right to a comfortable life in the work force? cia! classes after serving do not or cannot save As one person next to me re- Social Security also demon- The most controversial way that We must maintain marked: strates the appropriate role of the the government could profit from for such that. things. Social Security rity to avoid the social Social Secu- protects repercus- They look like LIS! government in our lives. the tax suggests that we allow the If there were no Social Security, stons. The diary of the soldier had a Instead of playing the much govemmenr to play [he Social Se- are not willing to see Americans beautiful color drawing of the feared "big brother" role, the gov- curity tax in the stock market. what would happen to those that' themselves or their family mem- did not save? man's girlfriend in it. ernment protects money for our Although this potential solution This She looks like II.S! retirement while also allowing us wouldn't exist if the stock market problem. presents a huge social bers without proper clothing invest or housing they didn't because The Serbian girl's diary con- to make independent invest- weren't at its peak, there would still tained a number of silly word ments. be less money to be made on gov- Cities of the United States are when they were younger. Although populated most citizens are fi- with homeless games that teenage girls are apt to Regardless, this system can- ernment bonds and other safe, yet already Not only would this num- nancially responsible, the govem- people. play. not be completely abolished be- weak, investments. While the mar- She could be my child ... cause people feel that the system ket is high, the government won't ber increase without social security, ment must still preserve its role as and guiding an example but those potential hand. homeless would Attempts at calligraphy in Ara- does protect their financial status. lose money. be parents and grandparents. bic script decorated the pages and If a person wishes to save This is clearly a fast and easy margins of the soldier's diary. With little or no money left to He could be my brother, Patriotic poems and symbols showed the girl was immensely proud of her Serbian heritage, the Can: Jeremy Keil debates the companies. people who at the time were shoot- Our nation is now faced usefulness of Social Other nations are not going Well, I'm sorry, but the gov- ing any non-Serb. with quite a dilemma. to be pleased with this. ernment cannot change human An eight-year-old Algerian girl Forecasts predict Social Security. nature. If people don't save for plan, If we implement was shot as she ran to her mother. Security will run out of money ment. we may have to worry this about retirement, it's their own fault. Even though the girl was dead in 2029. Many people are One cure offered for Social If America wants a system to it may get us into some by the first shot, they continued to worried about how this will Security is the diversion of its whether military skirmishes. protect the poor, then it needs serious pour bullets into the comatose affect their retirement and funds into stocks. This is not to Of course, some may regard to give up on Social Security bloody body. want it to be fixed. be done by private individuals anyone who attempts to abolish and institute a small welfare tax She was proud of who she was ... We have already attempted but by the govern men I. Social Security as heartless and on all income and only give the The soldier's diary had poems to fix it several times by in- I doubt this a l t er nat ive money (0 those who need it. in honor of his missing or killed creasing taxes and raising the would exist if the stock market mean-spirited they against no the poor Social Security does nothing because other have friends. retirement age. wasn't as high. means of providing for retire- to secure a decent retirement; Some of whom may have died I say abolish the system. It Wait until our government ment. nor does it help the people politicians because of starvation or the inad- has already proven itself [Q be starts losing money in stocks My answer is this: If they whom it the most. have decided need equate equipment they had. a failed idea and no amount of and then see how happy people were not being taxed 15% for Others may have surrendered to We need to wake up and de- the Allied forces because they had if America wants a system to protect the poor, then it needs to give up on Social no food and were desperately hun- gry. Security .... Social Security does nothing to secure a decent retirement, nor does it help He was just worried ... The girl pasted pictures of her the people whom politicians have decided need it the most. heroes in the diary. They are pic- tures of Serbian generals and offi- fixing will cure it. are. Social Security, then the poor mand we be allowed to control cials: the ones who orchestrated the Unfortunately, Social Se- This plan is bad for other would have the money to save our own retirement funds in- deaths of thousands. cu rit y has become so in- reasons, too. for retirement. stead of allowing the govern- The soldier wrote about how he grained in our culture that The government will begin The only people who can af- ment to squander them. hoped he'd survive the coming abolition is very unlikely. to control more of the economy ford to save for a comfortable months. That is why I propose it be as it attempts to build up its retirement are the rich, since Phoenix He just wished to see his girl- made voluntary. stocks. on a certain friend one last time. Or, as an alternative, allow Graft and political mistrust they are only taxed income. subscriptions of their amount But ... They look just like us... individuals to divert the will be much higher as compa- In other words, Social Secu- The girl fled her home, lost all money they pay to the Social nies attempt to influence which rity hinders the poor by robbing her possessions, but she still has her Security fund into tax-free in- Call (410) 751- stocks the government will them of the money they could life. vestments. own. We will also face a foreign use for retirement savings, 8600 or email She can write a new diary. This will allow those who policy crisis. while not affecting the rich at The soldier is dead, buried by still want Social Security to phoenix@wmdc.edu As government-owned com- all since the majority of their Jack's own hands. keep their false sense of finan- panies compete with foreign income is not taxed. for more informa- He won't see his girlfriend, and cial stability, while those who ask what r companies, our government Some would still will never again write of her. want to can try their own hand tion. may adopt policies to build its would do about those who don't . v. Underneath who truly. is like us? J 'at saving for their, own retire. in.terests .and undercut foreign