April 4: Insecurity, car lot and three sisters

Call it our social insecurity

To the editor:
Froma Harrop, in her column, “Social Security remains star in the gloom of the future,” (March 29, page A8) called Social Security, “… a star of stability in the rising gloom.”
Her column raises a couple of questions.
The first is the matter of the Social Security trust fund. I have been under the impression for many years that funds collected by the government for this fund were spent pretty much as soon as they were collected for various items other than Social Security. How much is in the trust fund? Where is this money kept? I can’t seem to find anyone who knows. I have e-mailed Harrop, and await her reply.
The second question arises from her claim that “Productivity gains have helped fewer workers pay for more retirees ....” Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not the brightest light on the tree when it comes to economics, but I always thought productivity was the relationship between goods produced or services provided and the time required to make or provide them. I thought that retirees were paid from taxes withheld from workers for that purpose, and that the taxes were based on the workers’ wages, not on how many widgets they produced per shift. I may be very stupid, but I fail to see any relationship between productivity and the solvency of the Social Security system.
I recently read another column, “The Social Security Deception,” in which the author claimed what I have always believed — that the money collected for the trust fund was spent as fast as it was collected.
Here is pretty much all I know about Social Security: The Constitution does not give the federal government the power to take your money to pay for my retirement. If you read the Constitution, you will discover the truth of that statement. It does say that unless a power is specifically defined in the Constitution, the federal government does not have that power. It was written that way because the men who wrote it knew the corrupting influence of political power and the weakness of men. They wanted the individual to decide what was best, then local governments, then state governments with the feds deciding as a last resort.
When the federal government stays within the bounds of the Constitution, it generally muddles through fairly well. Our military is second to none, the mail is usually delivered on time and we occasionally negotiate a treaty which makes sense. But when it oversteps its authority, things can get nasty in a hurry. Take health care and education, for instance. Are we better off with federal involvement? Not in my book.

ROBERT HUDSON
Pelham, N.C.

To the editor:
I take great exception with your recent article, “Car lot to close after 84 years,” (March 5, page B1). Wyatt Buick-Pontiac, the Wyatt family, their dedicated staff and the many retirees and an endless line of deceased family and staff do not represent “a car lot”!
The Wyatt family and its dealership are an institution in Danville and Pittsylvania County — and even at General Motors. Wyatt Buick is one of the oldest family-owned franchises in America. Sen. Landon Wyatt Sr. and Landon Wyatt Jr. are two of Danville’s finest citizens ever. It would take a book to list the countless things they’ve done for our area. They truly are probably the finest father-son team in Danville’s history — and deserved to be referred to as much more than “a car lot”!
I think your paper owes the Wyatt family an apology and a follow-up article that reflects more on one of our area’s finest families!

BILL SIMPSON
Chatham

To the editor:
One sunny afternoon, I was driving down Lanier Avenue looking across the railroad tracks at Dan River Inc.’s buildings. They looked so impressive in the sunshine, the red brick buildings standing tall and proud — until I saw the “deconstruction” wreckage at one end of the site.
What has happened to American manufacturing? If another big war comes to pass, will we be able to rely on China or India? They could be our enemies. That’s something to think about.
Dan River’s three chimney stacks are so proud and tall. If would be nice is the wreckers would leave the three stacks standing — and it probably would be cheaper than tearing them down. They’re a standing monument to the past industry of Danville, letting the people of Danville and any visitors know that Danville wasn’t always a town of big box stores. I call the stacks “the three sisters.”

HARRY WARD
Danville