In his January 24 column for The New York Times, "Raising False Alarms," Bob Herbert invoked the patron saint of progressives, FDR: Franklin Roosevelt couldn't have been clearer about the crucial role of the payroll taxes used to finance Social Security. They gave the beneficiaries a "legal, moral and political right" to collect their benefits, he said. "With those taxes in there, no damn politician can ever scrap my Social Security program." FDR should have read the bill, as Section 1104 of the Social Security Act of 1935 stipulates that: "The right to alter, amend, or repeal any provision of this Act is hereby reserved to the Congress." Moreover, in Flemming v. Nestor (1960) the Supreme Court "established the principle that entitlement to Social Security benefits is not contractual right." (Emphases added.) In delivering the Court's opinion, Justice Harlan wrote:  to engraft upon the social security system a concept of...(Read Full Post)