Dear Editor,<\/p>\n
It\u2019s disappointing to see how ill informed (or intentionally deceitful for political purposes) some are, regarding the financial state of our economy.\u00a0To cite just two recent examples of comments to the Readers\u2019 Column:<\/p>\n
The claim of a $2.8 trillion Social Security trust fund surplus is repeated weekly in the Pennysaver.\u00a0The fact is, according to the Social Security Trustees Report, \u201cSocial Security ran a $71 billion deficit in 2013, closing out four years of consecutive cash-flow deficits as the program\u2019s unfunded obligations continue to grow.\u201d\u00a0This $71 billion shortfall is part of the $680 billion national deficit for 2013, which increased our ballooning national debt to over $18 trillion.<\/p>\n
What about the claimed $2.8 trillion Social Security surplus?\u00a0There is none.\u00a0Your government spent it and put a bunch of paper IOU\u2019s in its place.\u00a0The combined 75-year unfunded obligations of the Social Security and Disability Insurance Trust Fund are $13.4 trillion.\u00a0The current Social Security system, of which I am a recipient, is broke and will require structural changes if it is to be available for our children and grandchildren.\u00a0Demagoguery won\u2019t solve the problem.<\/p>\n
The other example concerns the new Owego Elementary School (OES) and the claim that \u201cfor all intents and purposes all the new buildings are free from your personal pocketbook\u2019s perspective.\u201d\u00a0Further, that \u201cthe financing is all from FEMA and NY State.\u201d\u00a0So, where did FEMA and New York State get the money to pay for OES?\u00a0From the tooth fairy, perhaps?\u00a0No, you as a consumer and taxpayer in New York (the highest state and local tax state in the country) helped pay for OES.\u00a0One wonders just how much of FEMA\u2019s financing of OES ended up as part of the $680 billion deficit in 2013 or earlier years.<\/p>\n
Finally, no I don\u2019t \u201cthink the new buildings should just be a collection of Quonset huts,\u201d but neither do I want to go broke erecting the Owego Taj Mahal.\u00a0The emphasis and funding levels should be on achieving student academic excellence.\u00a0The new OES, while an attractive building, will not contribute to that end.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Dieter G. Dauber<\/p>\n
Owego, N.Y.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Editor, It\u2019s disappointing to see how ill informed (or intentionally deceitful for political purposes) some are, regarding the financial state of our economy.\u00a0To cite…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-letters"],"yoast_head":"\n