SS: Not part of debt woes

Social Security represents the best of the American dream - the idea that my lifetime of hard work will let me live comfortably in old age. It's not a handout. It's money that I earned and deserve to have when I decide to retire. Americans believe in this program, whether they vote Republican, Democratic, Tea Party or Independent.

The only people who don't seem to believe in this program are politicians and their big corporate donors who would rather see the rich get more tax breaks than for hard-working Americans to get their Social Security checks. Any representative who says that Social Security needs to be cut because of the debt ceiling is lying; Social Security doesn't contribute to the deficit, and using the current climate to cut benefits is unacceptable.

Now they want to create a new super committee in Congress to solve the deficit problem. If they do that, this group should be prohibited from considering cuts to Social Security. Politicians should not be able to use Social Security as a piggybank for their pet projects. It is our money- not theirs.

SHAWN WHITAKER

Bonners Ferry