Victoria Hugo-Vidal (“America’s number crunchers confirm what my generation already knows,” March 22) seems to believe that the federal government is only now beginning to recognize the financial stresses on the Social Security and Medicare systems. Is she so inwardly focused that she has not been aware that the trustees of these systems have been sounding these warnings since she was born, and before? Then she goes on to blame the Republicans (of course).

Social Security and Medicare were initially intended to be self-funding perpetual motion machines, much like insurance companies. The problem is, if indeed they were insurance companies, state regulators would have shut them down years ago because they are technically insolvent.

There are many reasons for the financial difficulties faced by Social Security and Medicare, one of which is that the Congress regularly and routinely raids the trust funds for general purpose use, leaving behind non-interest IOUs that we the taxpayers eventually have to cover.

Another reason is the propensity of Congress over the years to make retroactive eligibility and benefits changes to the systems without properly funding them. And, let us not forget the failure of government to recognize the basic economic effects of supply, demand and especially pricing, when it makes these changes.

As Ronald Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Michael Smith
Wells