When I was a kid, I was told the story of Chicken Little, who had an acorn drop on her head and decided the sky was falling down. Being a chicken, she immediately began to make a huge fuss about it and got the entire barnyard into a state. Finally, a wiser animal, probably a cow, looked up and said, “Doesn’t look that way to me!”

President Bush’s urgent warnings about Social Security keep reminding me of Chicken Little. But there is a very crucial difference. If he convinces Congress that Social Security is failing, the sky really will fall down. Americans who rely on Social Security will get hit by falling benefits and increased risks, while some Wall Street fat cats will rake in commissions.

To reprise the role of the cow – “Doesn’t look that way to me!”

Social Security is not broken. If the government would repay the sums it has borrowed, it is good until 2042 or beyond. But then, Congress doesn’t have to worry about this, and I’m just a cow, I mean taxpayer.

Joanne Dunlap, Rangeley