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Social Security system works; leave it alone
In 1966, I began paying into Social Security. Forty some years later, I accumulated about $200,000 in deposits between my employers and myself. After a good degree of interrogation, I began receiving a monthly check at the age of 62. The program is much like an insurance policy and for 14 years I have received my investment ( not entitlement). This system works and works well. Two-thirds of my income is derived from Social Security.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk seem to want to destroy this system, which has worked well for over 80 years. Apparently, they think that privatizing it would be a better solution. I say keep your hands off this paid-for benefit. I am sure I speak for 70 million retired Americans.
Charles John Kochenash
Upper Milford Township
DOGE employee cuts not thought through
“Measure twice, cut once,” carpentry’s cardinal rule, has been trampled by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency minions. Without congressional approval, they cut vital staff at more than 20 governmental agencies. No measuring needed, evidently.
That hurried chainsawing of civil servants’ careers has been echoed by cruel comments from Musk, Steve Bannon and Project 2025’s Russell Vought, as though these workers deserve to lose their jobs because of waste, fraud and abuse: insults on top of injury to the fired who’ve faithfully served Republican and Democratic administrations.
What worries me now are proposed cuts to Social Security: trimming 7,000 people from a workforce already at its lowest level in many years, eliminating the 1-800 phone service and requiring recipients to use the internet or schedule an in-person appointment. Beyond the difficulty of accessing benefits they’ve paid for, I fear that cuts to the Social Security Administration and all the other agencies will break those agencies, making us think that private companies are needed to run all those departments gutted by the president’s staff.
Does Washington need more money? Hire back fired IRS agents, tasked primarily with auditing those earning more than $400,000 per year. Between the end of 2023 and the fall of 2024, the IRS secured nearly $1.3 billion in owed, unpaid taxes through such audits.
Dodd Lamberton
Upper Saucon Township
Don’t understand why Democrats seem hateful
How many people were told by your parents (when you were children, that is) not to hate? I venture to say, without knowing, that it was most people. So what happened? I know many might answer back, “nothing.” I will respond to that by saying “Explain to me the hatred of the Democratic Party.” If you answer, “Where is it?” I will have at least a partial answer to that question. I have never seen or heard it so bad (and I’m a former Democrat). Pretending the outcome of an election isn’t so will get us nowhere. If your party lost, look as to why it did and don’t blame the other party for the loss. There’s something wrong here and nothing will convince me otherwise. Our country is on the brink, unless we save it. Will you help?
Mary Wozniak
East Allen Township
Policies, laws should be based on justice
Elon Musk made the point during his interview with Joe Rogan on Feb. 28 that empathy is “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.” Thus, empathy causes our self-destruction, as it is applied to policy and legislation around civil rights, immigration, social safety nets, diversity and inclusion, education, employment, health, safety, commerce, etc. I am in agreement that empathy is not the bedrock upon which our decisions around policies and legislation should be made. Rather, our policies and legislation must be based on justice. Strong and effective governance requires that each human being within its scope be afforded justice. Justice requires dignity, integrity and equity. Dignity requires respect. Integrity requires truth. Equity requires impartiality. It is its measure of justice that makes a nation great.
Christine M. Condon
Bethlehem
Elon Musk would be a great president
Even though he is not a natural-born citizen, it would be worth changing the Constitution so that Elon Musk could be elected president of the United States in 2028. He is one of the most intelligent, innovative and visionary entrepreneurs and as a result the richest man in our country. His involvement in investing in and/or controlling large companies like Tesla, SpaceX, X (Twitter) and PayPal show that he has success in a broad range of industries from automobiles to space to social media influence to online banking. In addition, he is gaining experience in exposing fraud and reducing the bloated cost of our federal government.
With Musk as president of our country in 2028, there would be a very good chance that the United States would experience a golden age of opportunity and success for more than the next decade.
Jack Sedovy
Whitehall Township
America in a chaotic situation
In the most recent World Happiness Report, the United States ranked 24th, its lowest ranking ever. In our topsy-turvy world, where change and chaos has become a daily occurrence, all most of us can do is cling to the hope that it won’t affect us.
Is this any way to live in a country that has been known as a beacon of freedom, opportunity and relative peace and prosperity for most of its 250-year history?
I foresee a great cry of despair from the multitudes who will be disaffected by what is happening and a cry of jubilation from those few who will benefit greatly.
All we can do now is stay vigilant, stay involved and hold on for a wild ride.
Barry Kessler
Lower Saucon Township
Trucking companies deserve recognition
Nice article in a recent edition of The Morning Call, “Mackenzie meets with Lehigh Valley trucking leaders.”
It is about time someone looks out for small, family-owned trucking companies. Trucks are the ones that get our groceries to our stores. The general public does not realize how much a company’s expenses are for insurances, licenses and permits to travel to other states and fuel.
Do we really need more warehouses? Look around, most warehouses and truck stops have a lot of empty trailers sitting waiting for a load to deliver.
Jane L. Stettler
South Whitehall Township
The Morning Call publishes letters from readers online and in print several times a week. Submit a letter to the editor at letters@mcall.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.
