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In reply to the discussion: This Is A Message To All On DU That Are Below The Age Of 55...... [View all]Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)I still remember my very first pay stub. It said FICA and said it took my hard-earned money!! I was livid!! Who was this FICA fellow and why was he taking my money??? I stormed home and asked Mom, "what the hell is FICA???"
Mom explained that it was for my old-age insurance, and that when I'm old, I won't be completely broke. Also, should I need health care, FICA would also pay for that. As a 16 year old, I was not overly impressed.
Then, Mom told me that the checks she'd received every month, since my Dad died 14 years previously, also came from FICA. They helped her pay for food and clothes for me and my brothers and sisters. It started to make more sense to me.
When Mom was forced to retire for heath reasons (and without a pension from the restaurant she worked at for years) 8 years after our conversation, FICA became crystal-clear to me. It was the ONLY income she had for the final 10 years of her life, beyond what her 6 children could give her. She was extremely fortunate in regards to health care since her former boss carried her policy long after she retired, so she had both BC/BS and Medicare. But her last 10 years, after raising six productive children, was no cake walk. But she probably would've died long before if it wasn't for SS/Medicare.
So... THAT'S FICA? Now it makes sense. And thank you FDR and LBJ. And Goddamn you to hell, Ryan, you punk!