Mary Pitt: The Great Social Security Theft

I recently read a lament about how the poor illegal immigrants are working to pay for someone else's retirement and, later, a news item about the fact that we are on the verge of siging an agreement that would allow these same immigrants to draw benefits based on their earnings under the Social Security numbers that they have stolen from honest American workers. It might be beneficial to analyze the working of the Social Security System and the ramifications and the consequences of these violations of "the law as she is written".

First, when an employer withholds Social Security contributions from the paycheck of an employee, that deduction is reported to the SSA in detail. When a taxpayer files an income tax report, the income as listed on the W2 form is compared by the IRS with the amounts reported to the SSA. If there is a large discrepancy, as there would be if more than one person were paying in under that number, the legal worker would be held to account for the difference. At best, the citizen taxpayer will have to pay income tax on the total amount; at worst they could be liable for criminal charges for under-reporting income in an attempt to avoid the taxation. In either event. the person to whom the number has been issued will be subject to un-earned punishment as the result of the malfeasance of someone else..

According to those whose sympathies are with the illegal workers, citizens will be entitled to greater benefits than they have earned in retirement payments, a matter which the new "agreement" would correct by allowing more than one person to collect benefits on a single account. However, anyone with a touch of common sense would realize that it would be impossible to determine what contributions were submitted on behalf of which worker, making an impossible tangle pleasing only those who oppose Social Security as a matter of principle.

When discussing the fact that estimates place the number of illegal immigrants in the United States today as high as twenty million, give or take a few million "anchor babies" who theoretically prevent the deportation of their parents, the problem has ballooned beyond belief. The only answers to the problem that we have seen put forth to handle the problem are either fencing and arming the border or passing some "comprehensive" plan like the one that was enacted in the 'seventies, which did absolutely nothing to control the influx of undocumented migrants. In fact, the lack of enforcement of even this toothless measure has magnified the problem as Mexican citizens rush across our border in order to be here when the next "amnesty" is enacted.

Legal purists tell us that, merely by sneaking across the border or by using phony Social Secruity numbers for identification, these people have committed crimes that should make them ineligible for legal immigration. However, it may be possible to look past that to find a satisfactory solution of some sort. It would seem that there is no substitute for first securing the borders to prevent the entry of more Mexican citizens and then to bring the situation within the United States under control. All undocumented migrants must be registered and assigned numbers, possibly Social Security numbers if that program is approved and work visas issued for those who are employed. After that, the individuals would be governed by the other laws regarding supervision of foreign workers. In the event of a conviction for a felony, (such as identity theft), deportation would be appropriate. Those who apply for American citizenship should be heard in order with the same requirements as any other immigrant rather than any "automatic" or expedited and preferential route.

This problem of Mexican nationals flooding across our southern border, importing with their culture their gangs and their illegal drugs. imposing on the expensive welfare system that has been painfully built up for the security of American citizens and committing crimes against our lawful residents, is a problem of extreme urgency. It is only because of the laxity of enforcement oif a thirty-year-old law that the situation has reached such critical mass. Now it is dividing the people, over-taxing our law enforcement, and threatening to destroy the institutions of our government. As the foreign nationals parade in our streets, demanding the vote, it has become a cancer on our very democratic structure and the problem must be dealt with now!

While I am as guilty as any of having a "bleeding heart" for the poor and the unfortunate, it seems that condoning the crimes against American citizens in stealing Social Security identification and exposing their righful owners to possible criminal penalties as the result is going a bit too far. And then to complain that, by doing so, they are required unfairly to contribute to the "retirement" of another is going a bit too far. Whatever solution is found to this "invasion" by foreign workers, it must be done soon and done efficiently. Failure to do so will cause further deterioration of the wages and workplace conditions of the American workers and the hastening of the collapse of our entire economic system. Whatever is to be done must be done at once rather than the dithering and political maneuvering that we have seen in recent years. To borrow from Larry, the Cable Guy, "Gidderdone!"

Huzzahs and whiney complaints may be sent to mpitt@cox.net

ENDS

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