Are the democrats really responsible for the Social Security to be used in ways other than as pensions?

[Otis F]

During the 40 years that the Democrat Party controlled the House of Representative, quite a few non-pension benefits were added to the S.S. program. Many of them occurred during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

The Republican Party has from time to time attempted to restore the actuarial soundness of the S.S. program. However, they have always been shouted down by the "heartless bastards" argument and have not ever found a way to get around that.

Our increasing life span is another problem. The S.S. program was designed when it was nearly certain that a good percentage of the contributors would die without collecting any (or very little) benefits. As we live longer, that assumption has vanished. And, the "survivor benefits" that are paid have exacerbated the problem.

I don't really blame the Democrat Party or the Republican Party. I blame them all equally. Leading means doing things that are sometimes unpopular. Instead, both parties treat the federal budget including the S.S. program as a way to buy our votes. What most of fail to notice is that they are using our money to try to buy our votes.