1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

Concerning Social Security payments, my mandatory contributions were made on every salary I received. It was deducted from the money I earned. The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a "Federal Benefit Payment?" This isn't a benefit. It is our money paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too. It totaled 15% of our income before taxes. It was not Voluntary, it was Mandatory!!! Congress took our money and used it elsewhere. You “forgot”that it was OUR money you were taking. You didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to you. And you didn't pay it back or pay interest on the debt you assumed. Recently you’ve told us that the money won't support us for very much longer. And now, to add insult to injury, you’re calling it a "benefit", as if we never worked to earn every penny of it. Just because Congress borrowed the money doesn't mean that our investments were a charity! We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going for the sake of that 92% of our population who need it. You can start with DEFUNDING Trump’s vanity projects, grift and war. Defund the border wall attack on Big Bend. Defund ICE. Stop paying LIFETIME benefits to every member of Congress. Your benefits should be exactly the same as mine- SSI and Medicare. Nothing more. Then call it what it is: Our Earned Retirement Income.