Stop calling social security and Medicare welfare. Those systems are supported by payroll taxes taken from employees’ wages. Before retiring I worked full time for over 40 years and paid into the system the entire time, like all other workers. For a substantial portion of that time, I was self employed and I paid both the employer and employee shares of those taxes. My back of the envelope calculation suggests the total I paid in amounts to several hundred thousand dollars, not counting the earnings that money would have accumulated had I saved and invested it myself. Now that I’m retired, I’m merely getting my money back. By what yardstick is that welfare?

Stop calling social security and Medicare welfare. Those systems are supported by payroll taxes taken from employees’ wages. Before retiring I worked full time for over 40 years and paid into the system the entire time, like all other workers. For a substantial portion of that time, I was self employed and I paid both the employer and employee shares of those taxes. My back of the envelope calculation suggests the total I paid in amounts to several hundred thousand dollars, not counting the earnings that money would have accumulated had I saved and invested it myself. Now that I’m retired, I’m merely getting my money back. By what yardstick is that welfare?

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