This is the full text of an email that was sent to me:

“[G]overnment can, instead of extending freedom, restrict freedom. And note … that the ‘can’ quickly becomes ‘will’ the moment the holders of government power are left to their own devices. This is because of the corrupting influence of power, the natural tendency of men who possess some power to take unto themselves more power. The tendency leads eventually to the acquisition of all power — whether in the hands of one or many makes little difference to the freedom of those left on the outside.” –U. S. Senator Barry Goldwater (1909-1998)

Remember,

Not only did you contribute to Social Security but your employer did too.

It totaled 15% of your income before taxes.

If you averaged only $30K over your working life, that’s close to $220,500.

If you calculate the future value of $4,500 per year (yours & your employer’s contribution) at a simple 5% (less than what the govt. pays on the money that it borrows), after 49 years of working you’d have $892,919.98.

If you took out only 3% per year, you’d receive $26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years (until you’re 95 if you retire at age 65) and that’s with no interest paid on that final amount on deposit!

If you bought an annuity and it paid 4% per year, you’d have a lifetime income of $2,976.40 per month.

The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madhoff ever had.

Entitlement my ass, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!!

Just because they borrowed the money, doesn’t make my benefits some kind of charity or handout!!

Congressional benefits, aka. free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that’s welfare, and they have the nerve to call my social security retirement entitlements?

We’re “broke” and can’t help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc.!

In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti , Chile , and Turkey .

And now Pakistan ……home of bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!!!

Our retired seniors living on a ‘fixed income’ receive no aid nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour Hundreds of Billions of $$$$$$’s and tons of food to foreign countries!

They call Social Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when its time for us to collect, the government is running out of money.

Why did the government borrow from it in the first place, and shouldn’t it have to pay interest on the “loans” it took?

Imagine if the GOVERNMENT gave ‘US’ the same support they give to other countries.

Sad isn’t it?