Dear Editor:

Many in America hear from multiple sources that Social Security is going bankrupt. Some believe Congress stole the money, or there won’t be enough to live on, or worse yet, that their children are not protected. I believe this is based on multiple sources of misinformation from think tanks funded by the Koch Brothers. At least one Heritage Institute exists in each state. It is easy to be confused by well-paid misinforming institutions.

Legally, Social Security is an entitlement program because the money is dedicated for use by you and your family and defined by the terms of that entitlement. Our work efforts generate revenue set aside under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) for current and future retirement years. If self-employed, all Social Security funds were paid by you. If a company employee, you contribute 6.2 percent and your employer contributes another 6.2 percent.

Excess Social Security revenue is placed in a trust fund account established in 1939. Social Security received today is used to pay retirees of tomorrow. The Social Security Trust Fund has never been put into the general fund of the government. That is how it works and why Forbes writes that it cannot go bankrupt.

Our fear that Social Security is flawed or risky is not related to the facts in the strength of the system. Be wary of those who try to instill fear.

In 1983 the law was modified requiring Social Security to collect more revenues than it was paying out — it cannot add a penny to the federal debt. When benefits exceed revenues the U.S. Treasury pays back money owed from earlier decades. Interest-paying treasury bonds are the backbone. If Social Security were really bankrupt then world investors in treasury bonds will stop investing and U.S. credit ratings would plummet. In 1984 all federal employees, including congress, were added to the Social Security system.

Social Security’s fiscal structure has inspired 114 countries to emulate its structure. Be proud that Maine’s social security revenues contribute billions to Maine’s economy. Workers keep America strong supporting and improving our social security system.

Jarryl Larson
Edgecomb