social security rant, especially from me

this month i received my very first social security statement, "prepared especially for" me. i felt so special! the social security administration thought especially of me and prepared me a statement! i have a few things to say about that.

first, i must ask the point. is there anything in particular i can do about said statement? no. more than 156 million people are required to pay social security dues (many who will never get a cent back, by the way, like noncitizens). do all 156 million get these "especially prepared" statements periodically? sounds, um, expensive.

second, the administration felt it prudent to print only the last four digits of my social security number "to help prevent identity theft," i suppose on the assumption that our state-run monopoly postal service might lose some mail this year. however, they thought it would be okay to print my birth date and taxable earnings from 1999 on. i'm glad my private information is safe in their hands.

third, i don't need reminded of how much money they are sucking from my paycheck, money that could instead invest. i'm fairly sure that, even if social security stays solvent, i'm losing out. i don't care to be reminded about it by a smug personalized statement.

the last section is entitled, "help us keep your earnings record accurate." to that, i say, "fuck you. my records are none of your business."

Labels: political