Subject: My take on Social Security: Rather than investing the SS surplus, the Federal government has been spending it as a means to limit the income tax burden of current taxpayers, those who otherwise would have to pay more to fund the country’s current endeavors. Future wage earners will be stuck paying the retirement benefits of the people who spent the surplus on other things. This is the result of the politicians pandering to the voters of today by hiding the costs of expensive progams by borrowing and shifting their costs on to the next, unsuspecting generation to reduce opposition to them. If the current generation is serious about fixing Social Security as we now know it, the income tax rates will have to be raised to begin to recover the Social Security money that was looted so it is there when we retire. The next generation may not take too kindly, or be able, to support we babyboomers after we have foolishly spent our generation's Social Security during our earning years and have to plead for assistance when we’re no longer working. The Bush proposal to go to private accounts and to reduce future Social Security benefits recognizes this pending problem. Although it is an easier solution, as opposed to saving Social Security by raising unpopular taxes and/or cutting other programs in anticipation of our retirement years, in the long run private accounts will do more harm than good, for many reasons, both for our generation and future generations. MT