THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 17, 1995 TAG: 9504150005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Regarding ``Seniors killing the American Dream'' (letter, April 5), what does letter writer Bernice Levinson believe is the American Dream?
Is it to keep one's wealth after one has worked hard to gain it?
Is it retiring without the worry of expenses exceeding income?
Is it greed?
Is it the right to be selfish and uncaring of other people?
I always thought that the American Dream is reward for hard work. To be able to raise a family with a reasonable income from labors of individual pursuits. To work for a company and be treated fairly. To be able to have the opportunity to be an entrepreneur.
It's also freedom.
We seniors living on Social Security kept this country together through world wars and other conflicts. We didn't put money into a fund just for a meager cushion at the end of the line.
We lived and worked to raise our families, paid taxes to state, federal and county to support the young while they were growing up.
Who put the food into the mouths of the young? Who subsidized whom then?
I shared ownership of a company that my partner and I created. For every dollar we earned, we paid double in taxes (one for the company and one as an individual). I did this while rearing six children, all of whom are contributing to the general welfare of this land by working and paying their taxes, etc.
We who are on Social Security and Medicare paid our dues to help make the United States the greatest country in the world. Now, it's the turn of the younger generations.
The generation of greed and selfishness in the 1980s created our $5 trillion debt. Let it bear the pain. It can live the American Dream and pay off its own debts.
JACK HEBENSTREIT
Buxton, N.C., April 8, 1995 by CNB