Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 4, 1995                   TAG: 9508040050
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Short

LOBBYISTS SAY SOCIAL SECURITY UNFAIR

The Third Millennium organization analyzed Social Security data to make its case that retired Americans in the wealthiest neighborhoods receive significantly more in benefits than seniors in the poorest stretches of the country.

``Today's truck drivers and lab technicians pay payroll taxes that flow directly into the pockets of today's retirees,'' said Deroy Murdock, a co-founder of the group.

``These same workers no doubt would be startled to learn that more of their money lands in homes along Park Avenue and Sunset Boulevard than on the humble streets where America's poor people live,'' Murdock said.

Social Security pays retirement benefits based on a worker's earnings, so the highest-paid workers receive the greatest benefits. At the same time, Social Security redistributes wealth to prop up the lowest-paid Americans in retirement.

Countering the arguments, Social Security said most seniors are not wealthy and that two-thirds of all benefits go to families with incomes below $30,000.