Around this year’s Thanksgiving holiday, I’m going to suggest that we Americans give thanks for the Social Security program. I know lots of people like to think that the “good old days” (before Social Security) were, well, good old days.…
old days” were, well, good old days. But many times, they were not. And if you’d like to get a glimpse of what life was like before the Social Security program came along, I suggest you read a book called “Growing Up,” by former New York Times columnist Russell Baker.
People are also reading… Many people have attempted to explain to me that America would be better off without Social Security. They point out that this nation was founded on the principles of personal freedom and that our pioneer spirit encourages people to make it on their own without government interference.
“The giving up of Audrey was done in a time of shock and depression for my mother,” Baker writes. “When the undertaker was paid, she was left with a few dollars of insurance money, a worthless Model T, several chairs, a table to eat from, a couple of mail-order beds, a crib, three small children, no way to earn a living, and no prospects for the future.”
My mother, brothers, sister and myself each received a monthly check from Social Security based on my father’s earnings. My siblings and I were able to receive benefits up to the age of 22 if we stayed in school, and my mother received checks until my youngest brother turned 18. Here is a postscript to what I just wrote. I ran a column similar to this one several years ago. After that column ran, I heard from more than a few members of the government-bashing and Social Security-bashing crowd. I saved just one example. Here is what he wrote — in part.
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