Communities must invest in future

Since Sentinel reader Frank Di Bello is advocating a pay-as-you-go society where individuals fund only the programs that directly benefit them ("Resident Wants To Know Why Seniors Have To Pay School Taxes," Letters to the Editor, June 19), I want to stop paying for Social Security and Medicare.

See, even the most optimistic estimates regarding the insolvency of these programs state that I will likely never get a benefit, so why should my wife and I continue to pay nearly $10,000 from our paychecks annually?

Most retirees are receiving more in benefits than they contributed, draining workers who pay the taxes that keep them afloat. Add to that the East Brunswick Senior Center, a facility I derive no benefits from, and I imagine that, as a father of a school-age child, I spend more money making local seniors comfortable than they spend on my child's education.

Of course, I'd never be that selfish; as an American citizen, I understand the importance of community and making sure we invest in our future and also protect those who can no longer work. I have a feeling a few of my neighbors feel the same way - well, at least 2,319, according to the last school election - but it seems these days all we hear from are those who constantly ask, "What's in it for me?"

Bill McCann East Brunswick