Here are some facts you can use to dispute claims that the Democrats have single-handedly ruined Social Security. Your informant was not well educated at all about the SSA, its intentions, or its later amendments. This is kinda long. I hope it's useful.

History of Social Security

14 August 1935 - Social Security Act passed and signed into law by President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt

- The original draft of the Economic Security Act (which became the SSA) presented to Congress by FDR called for a tax that
"shall be levied and assessed from every employee...an earnings tax to be to be collected from and paid by every employer
(Section 301)." This tax was to commence on January 1, 1937. It goes on to say that "the amount of such tax shall be deducted
by the employer from the wages of the employee (Sec 301, Subsec 5)."

- The final draft of the Social Security Act which was passed into law includes the same provision for deducting
taxes from the wages of every employee in most types of service (Section 801). Exceptions include agricultural
workers, domestics, and military personnel.

11 August 1939 - FDR signs into law the 1939 Amendments to the SSA which create survivor benefits, transforming the Act from
a retirement fund into a "family-based economic security program."

26 July 1956 - The House votes on Amendments which guarantee payments to the disabled, ending a two-year freeze. There were
31 Nay votes, 22 of which were from Republicans. President Eisenhower signs a nominally modified version of this bill into
law later that year.

30 July 1965 - President Johnson signs into law Amendments which create the Medicare program. There were 116 Nay votes in the
House, 69 of which were from Republicans.

30 October 1972 - Public Law 92-603 (under President Ford) makes SS benefits available to legal aliens who are permanent residents. Anyone with a
Social Security number - who is thus paying SS taxes on their wages - is eligible for SS. No person who has not been legally
admitted to residence or citizenship in the United States can receive benefits.

22 August 1996 - Public Law 104-193 (under President Clinton) further prohibits any person who is not a legal resident or citizen from receiving SS
benefits. Aliens may receive benefits if they have at least 40 qualifying quarters of earnings within the United States or
if they fall under certain categories of refugee or if they are current members or veterans of the United States military.

What all this means:

Social Security has NEVER been a voluntary program. From the beginning, it was meant to be funded by mandatory taxes on wages.

Both Democrat and Republican Presidents, and Democrat and Republican Congresses, have amended and improved the SSA. When
benefits were extended to the disabled and the Medicare program was created, more Republicans than Democrats voted against
these changes.

President Clinton did NOT extend SS permanent benefits to aliens who have not paid into the system. Legal aliens have
been eligible for benefits since 1972 when a Republican - Gerald Ford - signed this into law.
These people have worked in the United States and paid an adequate amount into the system.
Certain classes of refugees and the children of refugees who have suffered torture
or other cruelties in their home countries (such as Cuba and Haiti) are entitled to LIMITED benefits for a FINITE period
of time. These benefits end after a certain period of years (5-7). This is a very small and insignificant group of people.
Even the current conservative administration has not looked to end these benefits because they pose no threat to the solvency
of Social Security.

The real problem is the impending wave of retiring Baby Boomers who are projected to put the system into
the red. By 2038, there will be too many Americans in need of payments and not enough money to make these payments. As the
population ages, there won't be enough workers in the country who are paying into Social Security to cover the benefits of
those who no longer working. The imbalance in the population is what will bring about a Social Security crisis. This same
issue is being faced in several European countries who also find their populations are becoming top-heavy.

It has been the current Republican administration and the current Republican Congress that have spent the entire budget
surplus from 2000-2001 on a costly and unjust war. These funds might otherwise have been used to shore up Social Security. It
was also Republicans who suggested alternately privatizing Social Security or investing taxpayers' money into the stock
market, two outrageously unstable solutions that have been rejected. The Bush administration currently has no plan to save
Social Security. He has only solicited recommendations and will probably leave the issue for future generations to deal with.
(See www.ssa.gov and the Social Security FAQ). His predecesor provided far more leadership on this issue than Mr. Bush has.