TIME TO DIE & SOCIAL INSECURITY

This should be the last of Terri Schiavo until her husband is indicted for her injuries if the Medical Examiner is honest in his evaluation of Terri’s autopsy. We have been hearing for days that perhaps her condition was from being beaten and not from a heart attack as had been the original diagnosis of her condition.
Late news indicates that the Examiner may be going to hide the truth from people in order to alleviate liability for being those who were wrong all of these years, as he has said that he will not allow an independent investigator to watch the autopsy. If Jeb Bush or George W. want to get something right, they should immediately take the autopsy away from this Examiner and let the FBI examiner’s do the autopsy, so that we will get the truth. No one involved with Michael Schiavo in any way should be allowed to touch the body.
There has been an indication that some politicians have advocated violence against Michael Schiavo, but I think perhaps that is mere hype from both sides as they try and make political points from this tragedy.
It continues to amaze me how much air time and newsprint was occupied by this story. It is one of those human interest stories that everyone has an opinion about, mostly because we can see ourselves in the same condition and that frightens us. So we latch onto the story and try to make sure that our viewpoint wins the day, so if we are ever in the same situation we will have already made our views and wishes known to those around us and our will can be carried out.
This is why another very important story is coming back into the news as we see people on both sides of the Privatize or Fix Social Security issue and today there were demonstrations in many cities as Congress gets ready to come back to work and face this issue. We do not yet know how this will turn out, but I believe that personal accounts are a bad idea and will inevitably be approved. This will lead to a stock market boom for awhile and then when people begin to lose everything they have in the private accounts we will be further in debt due to the change over to private accounts and then we will be even further in debt as we try and shore up what is left of Social Security after they try and bring everyone back into the system after the private accounts fail.
Does the President and other backers of the private accounts plan believe that people are smart enough to do their own investing and get back anywhere close to the return that is hoped for to bolster their retirement funds.
This is America, where gambling is not merely a past time but a huge participatory lifestyle, and when we are able to gamble with some of our money we will take the highest risk possible to try and bring in big returns. I know that the politicians are trying to foresee a future where everyone invest their money and they all get good returns and thus Social Security is saved. I find that this kind of thinking is wishful at best and fantasy at worst. I also think that fantasy land is where we will end up and then Social Security will be in such a bad condition that it will no longer be the Social Security that we know, but a system which will be another form of welfare with all of the means testing and needing to meet certain criteria, just as welfare is today.
It will be interesting to see what develops, and it is important that this issue is being addressed by a President who does not have to worry about being re-elected, so he is free to come up with ideas which would not be available for someone who is trying to get re-elected. Maybe George W. can do something good with his second term as this opportunity to talk about and find a solution for Social Security may not come again until it is too late.
Everyone out there needs to think about this issue and when you have made a decision as to what you would like to see done with Social Security, you need to let your elected officials know, either by telephone, letter or e-mail. It is no longer just an issue that will go away, as time is of the essence no matter what is decided in this regard. It sounds like that time of Social Security going broke is a long time from now, but if you think about it the time frame they speak about is going to be here before you know it. Take a stand and let them know how you feel.
Daniel Carvel Kepler