orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (11/14/85)
Dave Olson and his anti-aid to ordinary people friends seem to have no understanding of the most elementary principles, such as what makes people poor or rich: > From Dave Olson > >Forgive me if I am incorrect, but in one of your previous articles, you > >claimed that some of the recipients of SS were too poor to live without > >it. Yet, you also keep claiming that SS is not for poor people. Which > >is it? > What I said was that *without Social Security benefits* many retired workers would be poor. This does not mean that Social Security is *aid to the poor* - it is NOT. As Richard Carnes pointed out Social Security benefits have nothing whatsoever to do with income- in fact they increase for certain levels of income, since more money has been paid into the system. I have also pointed out umpteen times now that eligibility for Social Security is dependent on working a certain number of quarters and paying into Social Security for that period. Without *wages* almost all Americans would be *POOR*. Does this mean wages are simply a welfare handout for the poor? Without *interest income and capital gains* almost all rich Americans would be *POOR*. Does this mean interest income and capital gains are simply a welfare handout for the poor? Your logic is confused and contorted. In order to qualify as aid to the poor, Social Security benefits, wages, interest or any other benefits or sources of income must be tied to poverty. Some programs such as AFDC, housing subsidies, and others *ARE* tied to income level and targetted for the poor. As Richard has pointed out these constitute only 6.3% of the budget devoted to human needs. Wages have nothing to do with poverty but are the reward for working, irrespective of one's income level, or whether one already has another job. Public education is provided to *all* to promote an educated citizenry, and Social Security benefits are provided to all workers who qualify and have paid into the system the minimum number of quarters to qualify *regardless of income*. tim sevener whuxn!orb