Here we go again. President Bush has determined that Social Security is about to “collapse” and only his plan to offer younger workers private accounts can save it from bankruptcy. Isn’t this the same guy who told us that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were an imminent threat to the homeland that obligated us to invade Iraq? Didn’t the Army just wrap up efforts in Iraq to find the WMDs, with the commanding officer of the investigation concluding that Iraq has not had any WMDs since 1991?

Scare tactics regarding Social Security follow the classic Bush strategy of worrying the public about a nonexistent problem and “fixing” it in a way to please radical conservatives. Officials in the Bush administration have even admitted in internal memos that the point of offering private accounts within Social Security is not to bolster the program, but to invalidate the efficacy of one of the longest-lasting, progressive government programs.

I urge everyone to look into the details of what is really happening with Social Security. They will find there is no crisis, and any long-term issues with the program can easily be addressed through slight modifications.

The real crisis in the government budget is Medicare, but do you think we will here anything about how to address that very real problem? About as likely as finding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Dave Chirayath, Lewiston

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