I get lots of emails from readers expressing sentiments similar to what these guys recently sent me: “Why should rich people get Social Security? I think it’s just morally wrong that wealthy people should be able to collect a Social Security check!” Here is another example: “Why all the fuss about Social Security going broke? We could save the system forever if we just take rich people off the program!”
I always respond to these people by making the following points. Social Security isn’t now, and never has been, a welfare program. One of the basic tenets of Social Security is that if you work and pay taxes for a required amount of time, you are going to get a Social Security benefit someday. And you get that benefit if you are poor or if you are rich. In other words, if you pay into the system, you’re going to get something out of the system. It’s as simple as that.
