Opinion: Social Programs by definition

Dear Editor,

According to President Trump and the national conservative news media, someone who simply supports a federal government social program that helps people like Social Security and Medicare is a “crazy socialist.” If we go by that definition, then that would make Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon “crazy socialists” because they both signed new federal government social programs that help people into law/existence and they both supported Social Security.

In fact, Ike wrote a letter to his brother in which he said that any Republican who wants to abolish Social Security is “stupid.” It appears that conservative-Republicans have become a lot more conservative and stupid since 1980, because we sure do have a lot of them now who want to abolish Social Security and move our country toward “survival-of-the-fittest” Social Darwinism. 

I just saw President Trump’s Acting Chief of Staff on television. When he was a Congressman, Mick Mulvaney was a favorite of “The Tea Party” and was well known for stating that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme,” that it is “unconstitutional,” and that it should be abolished.

Sincerely,

Stewart B. Epstein

Rochester, N.Y.