Asiah Gayfield is a senior, STS major currently in the
Washington D.C. internship program. Read the editorial below and
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article! There have been 80 comments so far, so feel free to add
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Retirees depending on Social Security don't deserve cuts
6:11 PM, Feb. 18, 2011 |
I am a senior at Butler University who will graduate this May.
While I am concerned about many issues plaguing our nation, my
biggest concern is over the state of Social Security.
Under the current program I will not be able to receive benefits
until 2056, so I am less concerned about my future benefits and
more concerned about the millions of senior citizens, like my
grandmother, who currently receive benefits and the millions more
who are set to receive benefits in the next 20 years.
Social Security has made it a possibility for many senior
citizens to live their final years in dignity. It is self-funding
and does not add one cent to the nation's deficit, and does so
while managing to keep an estimated 40 percent of senior citizens
out of poverty.
Those in favor of changes to the program will tell you that an
increase in life expectancy warrants an increase in the retirement
age. It might be easy for a member of Congress to work past the
current retirement age, but this would be disastrous for the
millions of older Americans with physically demanding jobs who may
not be able to work into their late 60s and early 70s.
As a child I was taught to respect my elders. This is a lesson
that all politicians, especially those who are calling for cuts and
changes to Social Security, would do well to learn.