Yes, I can explain some simple fundamentals of why Westbrook resident Connie Smith’s bill increases outpace her Social Security increase (“Letter to the editor: Pockets empty despite Social Security boost,” March 13, Page A4).

Social Security is not a retirement plan – it is meant to supplement people’s retirement income. Sadly, many people expect Social Security to cover retirement costs (and other things), a false belief I think that has been enhanced by poor media coverage, lack of public education and politicians.

Thanks to the inability of the government to properly handle Ms. Smith’s Social Security money, it is a negative investment – meaning that after adjusting her money’s value for inflation, it is worth less than the day it was withheld by the government. Had her money been invested in the stock market, it probably would be worth up to 10 times what it is now.

Inflation is where each dollar a person has buys less over time. Nearly all inflation is caused by government, a good example being when the Federal Reserve under President Barack Obama kept dumping public money into the stock market to make it appear that Wall Street was performing.

Anything a person buys – power, vitamins, etc. – costs more because of inflation. Because Social Security is a negative investment, it cannot keep up with inflation. Increases in Social Security payments simply increase the rate of inflation, making the problem increasingly worse.

At this point, the best thing anyone can do is contact the Washington delegation – Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Angus King and Rep. Chellie Pingree – and tell them to stop doing things that cause inflation, and scrap the failing Social Security System for a legitimate private forced retirement investment program. This will not do us any good, but it will help future generations.

Greg Foster

Raymond

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