SOCIAL SECURITY DISABIITY: DON'T DARE CALL IT 'WELFARE'

Let me be blount:  Social Security disability is not welfare.  

There are all kind of infantile articles floating around the web:  "Social Security, the New Welfare" and "Social Security, America's Secret Welfare Program."

Being blount again, this is crap.

Here are 4 reasons why Social Security disability is NOT, and never has been, welfare:

 1)  You paid FICA tax every day you worked.  FICA stands for "Federal Insurance Contribution Act."  It's actually a Social Security tax.  It came out of every paycheck you earned.

2)  You were forced to purchase Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) by the US government.  You were not given a choice.  This is a government sponsored disability insurance plan, just like you would purchase from an insurance company.  The only difference, it was mandatory--you were forced to buy it, no choice.

3)  The Social Security program is self-financing.  It is not paid for out of the general US treasury.  FICA taxes come out of your paycheck, are matched by your employer, and go into a special trust fund.  When you become disabled, money comes out of the trust fund to pay your benefit.  This is the same principle used by large insurance companies to offer benefits to their policyholders.  When you get an SSDI benefit check, you are not spending government tax money.

4)  You don't have to be poor or needy to get SSDI benefits because you worked for them and paid for them. There's no need to show low income, poverty or financial need to an SSDI benefit. If you meet the conditions of the contract the US Government forced upon you when you went to work, the benefits are yours--paid for and financed by you and your employer. 

Why do I object to misinformed people who refer to Social Security as "welfare"?  Because they slander the disabled individuals who purchased insurance against the eventuality of become disabled--just because they now dare to try to collect on that insurance, insurance they have been paying for most of their lives. They make it sound like these honest, hard working people are trying to get something for nothing.  They may be trying to get something--but it sure isn't for nothing. Social Security applicants and beneficiaries should not have to feel ashamed or embarrassed for trying to collect on a Government insurance program they were forced to enroll in and pay for their entire working lives.  It is not welfare.  Stop calling it that!