ArcaMax

Every once in a while, I will use a word or phrase -- with the most innocent of intentions -- that nevertheless ends up driving some people nuts. Well, if not "nuts," it at least makes them irate enough to send me an email voicing their anger with my language choices. I've saved some up, and here they are today.

Q: It really gets my goat when you use the term "Social Security checks." Don't you know that no one gets a paper check anymore?

A: Actually, for a variety of reasons, a couple hundred thousand people still get paper Social Security checks. But that's neither here nor there.

I occasionally use the term "Social Security check" interchangeably with the term "Social Security benefit." (Although check out the next question about how even that term upsets some people!)

I suppose I could religiously refer to someone's "Social Security direct deposit payment." But that can be a little bit stilted and awkward. So I think if, every once in a while, I talk about a person's Social Security check, my readers will know I'm not referring to a paper check mailed to them every month but rather to the payment that shows up monthly in their bank account.

Q: I hate when you use the term "Social Security benefit." I worked hard and paid lots of taxes in return for the Social Security money I get every month. I am not getting a "benefit" from the government. I earned it!

A: I am not trying to imply anything negative or degrading when I refer to Social Security "benefits." It's just a commonly used term for the money that Social Security beneficiaries get every month from the government. Uh-oh! I just said "beneficiaries."

Q: You should not be using the term "Social Security account." That implies some kind of banking relationship. The government is not my bank. They are not holding my money in an account. As we all know, the government has stolen every nickel of money ever collected in Social Security taxes, and they are just repaying us with made-up money from an empty U.S. Treasury.

A: I'll get back to your allegation of stolen Social Security funds in a minute, but first let me deal with the word "account."

Once again, I'm not trying to imply anything by using the word. I simply use the word "account" interchangeably with the work "record." I think you'll accept the fact that you do have a "record" with the Social Security Administration. For example, they maintain a record of your earnings while you are working and then they maintain a record of your monthly payments once you start receiving benefits.

Also, if you go to the SSA's website, you will see that you can open up a "MyAccount" site to help you access all kinds of personal services associated with your Social Security account. Oops. Should I have said "Social Security records" or "Social Security files?"

Now back to your stolen money allegation. I just don't have the space in today's column to explain Social Security financing. If you really want to understand the issue, get my book "Social Security Simple and Smart" and read the chapter called "Myths and Facts About Social Security Financing." In a nutshell, every dime ever collected in Social Security taxes is immediately converted into U.S. treasury notes. And some of those notes are redeemed (with interest) every month to pay all benefits due that month. The remaining notes make up the Social Security trust funds.

Q: It really gets my goat when I hear you, and many politicians, refer to Social Security as an entitlement. I worked all my life and paid Social Security taxes all my life. How can they call that an "entitlement?"

A: They can call it that because Social Security is an "entitlement" -- literally. And I think you've got to blame popular culture, not politicians, for abusing the term.

Social Security is an entitlement in not only the literal but also the legal sense of the term. Social Security is Title 2 of the Social Security Act. Medicare is Title 18 -- and other programs make up other titles of the Social Security law. So that's where the root word "title" comes from.

Once you meet all the qualifications for Social Security benefits (having enough work credits, being the right age, etc.) then you are considered "eligible" for benefits. But when you actually file a claim for benefits and get approved, you are legally "entitled" to those benefits.

So that is what makes Social Security an "entitlement" program. And for that matter, any other government program for which you have to meet certain eligibility criteria and then sign an application and get approved for benefits is also an "entitlement" program.

But popular culture has given the term a bad name. Many folks have started using the word to imply some kind of government handout, such as welfare or food stamps. Actually, welfare and food stamps are also "entitlement" programs because you have to meet certain eligibility criteria and file a formal application to become "entitled" to those benefits, too.

It's just too bad the name has been given such a stigma. There is nothing wrong with being an "entitlement" program. It's just a legal term.

Q: In a recent column, you used the term, "OMG!" That is using our Lord's name in vain and is an affront to me and all good Christians. You should be ashamed of yourself!

A: Oh, my goodness (OMG), I had no idea I was committing a sin!!

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If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called "Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security." The other is "Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts." You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. Or you can send him an email at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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