Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Think back to that first job you had and the first paycheck you received. I’m sure it was a bit of a shock when you saw all the deductions including the rather hefty one labeled “OASDI.” After asking around, you found out that OASDI is the Social Security tax meant to cover your retirement income. At the time, you were probably thinking “Retirement? Who cares about retirement? That’s a million years from now.”

Well, it turns out it it’s not quite a million years; more like 40-50 years. In the meantime, you’ve probably been paying into Social Security all this time at a current rate of 6.2 percent of your earnings. That’s quite an impressive amount. But wait, your employer is also obligated to kick in a matching 6.2 percent to make this a 12.4 percent tax per year … for every year that you have worked. That is a huge obligation on your part and the part of your employer.

Now let’s say you are entering your golden years or maybe you’re midway through th...