Letters to the editor Jan. 2

Social Security assets don't actually exist

Velda Kennedy wants all of us to learn the facts about Social Security. Unfortunately, Velda, your trust in the trust funds may be misplaced. Those treasury securities you mention are essentially debt or IOU's owed by the Treasury to Social Security.

The only real money for benefits comes from the current tax withholding of working Americans. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget admits that while it is true that the trust fund exists and was indeed overfunded by $2.5 trillion, there is no real money to pay future benefits. Instead these Treasuries or IOU's to finance future benefits are real in a bookeeping sense only.

Velda, there are no real assets that can be drawn down, but rather claims on the Treasury that when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing or reducing benefits. Congress has already spent all of the surplus before most of the baby boomers have yet to retire, leaving nothing but unfunded benefits and massive deficits.

All this information is public and can be obtained from the SSA, CBO and GAO. Social Security is broke and the sooner the public stops believing there is any real money to pay benefits in the future, the sooner we can start addressing real solutions.

Cutting benefits may soon be a reality since the depth of the current recession has created a situation where more benefits are being paid than taxes collected. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Carol Perry

Minden

Progress edition showed reasons to be optimistic

I just finished reading the Progress supplement in today's Nevada Appeal and want to thank everyone who contributed. From Mayor Bob Crowell and Publisher Niki Gladys, to all the excellent staff writers, everyone provided objective assessments of where our city stands today and realistic appraisals of where we are going in 2011.

While it has become a challenge to maintain a positive attitude anymore, Progress provided numerous reasons for the cautious optimism we must all nurture.

And thanks to the supportive businesses and advertisers, as well.

Steve Waclo

Carson City

Seniors need that cost of living raise

Do you suppose that the elected congressmen/women will get a cost of living raise like last year? Gas prices are up, groceries are up, our insurance premiums are going up, and our utilities are up.

Well, folks, with the Washington crew at work, don't look for a raise in your Social Security check, and hope they don't decide to reduce it. After all, we aren't supposed to question what Washington is doing. We are suppose to roll over and play dead.

Send Harry Reid a message and ask why.

Bill Beil

Carson City

Traffic light long overdue at intersection

I feel sorry for the people who were in the accident during the Christmas holidays on Airport Road and Highway 395 (in Douglas County).

What is it going to take to finally put a long overdue traffic light at that intersection? There are two others up the road that took a long time to get installed.

Now with the industry off of Airport Road, you would think that it was necessary to put in another light to protect those who are working for many companies in Douglas County.

What is it going to take to get the attention that this intersection needs the protection of a light to help the workers get home safely?

We will not draw attention to fill the empty buildings with business, if it is going to become a problem just to get home from Airport Road.

Jo-Ann White

Minden

Don't cut spending on alternative energy

People made it abundantly clear in the recent election that jobs and the economy were the No. 1 priority - not balancing the budget or our national debt. Any reductions in government spending before the economy is on its way back can only create more economic misery for the tens of millions of unemployed, under-employed and the unemployed no longer able to collect unemployment checks - not something they've asked for or deserve.

Four decades ago, Congress decided on an environmental plan of action that eventually led to our current economic demise. Altering the size of our economy to achieve this goal was obviously wrong halfway through the process. But Congress continued on, while knowing there was a better way to achieve their goal with less economic stress.

To handle the unemployed, still being able to collect their check or not, is to continue to pay them until the economy kicks in. All the affected people deserve no less for the rank stupidity and ignorance displayed by our government over most of the last 40 years.

Turn on all our energy resources or just oil and natural gas, and watch an economic miracle in action. Implement alternative energies and fuels, something that's 40 years overdue, as is upgrading our national power grid to accept the power from alternative energy. We've got to turn off foreign oil and natural gas.

Ron Wood

Dayton