Q: I just heard from a reliable source on the radio that illegal immigrants are ripping off American taxpayers by collecting Social Security benefits. No wonder this country and the Social Security system are in such trouble. Do you have any information about how much money the U.S. pays these illegal workers?

A: How about “zero.”

I could change the title of this column to “Debunking Social Security Myths' and I'd have enough source material to fill up my allotted space in the newspaper for the next 10 years!

And the undocumented workers are ripping off Social Security myth would be one of the first columns I would write.

There are no undocumented workers in this country collecting U.S. Social Security benefits and ripping off the taxpayers. So Iím afraid your ìreliable source on the radioî is probably just another xenophobe spreading hatred and misinformation to boost ratings!

In fact, Social Security Administration actuaries point out that undocumented workers have just the opposite impact on the programís finances. They pump millions of dollars annually into Social Security trust funds without ever collecting a nickel in Social Security benefits.

(Please bear in mind that the actuaries are not saying illegal immigration is a good thing for the country. But they are saying it has a positive impact on the financial status of Social Security.)

And I have a personal story that illustrates this phenomenon.

Several years ago while I was still working for the Social Security Administration, I was giving a speech to a large group of aerospace workers in the San Diego area. After I was done talking, one employee came up to me. He said he wanted to talk about his father. He explained that his dad had come into this country illegally from Mexico about 40 years ago. Somehow back then he had obtained an illegal Social Security card. He had been using that card and number at various jobs over that past four decades. His dad was now in his 70s and was finding it difficult to continue working. But he did not want to risk going into a government office to try to get help. He asked if there was any way his father could collect Social Security.

And the answer was no! As long as he was in this country illegally, he would never be eligible for Social Security benefits.

Sorry pal, but ripping off the Social Security system is one social ill you canít blame on undocumented workers.

Q: I have heard we are sending millions of dollars a month in Social Security benefits overseas. How can we put a stop to sending our hard-earned money to these foreign thieves?

A: So I guess my former neighbor is a thief, huh? He's a guy born and raised in the U.S. He worked hard all his life for a well-known American corporation. He retired a while back and gets a nice pension from them and a nice Social Security retirement check from the government. About a year ago, he and his wife decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and they moved to Italy, not far from Florence. Along with his pension, his Social Security check is sent their every month. What a thief, huh?

My point is, almost all of the about 350,000 Social Security checks sent overseas every month are going to U.S. citizens now living abroad. A small number go to non-citizens, but these are folks who worked for U.S. companies and paid U.S. Social Security taxes.

To find out more about Tom Margenau and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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