Social Security Must Live #258 By Hank Silverberg Social Security is NOT an entitlement. It is NOT a handout. It is insurance. The program was approved and signed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, and it helped dig America out of the Great Depression. Americans over 65 began collecting it right away in 1935, and since then it has kept millions of older people out of poverty. The idea is simple. Each working American pays a Social Security tax. It is money taken right from your paycheck. It's an insurance premium on a policy that you can then collect once you reach retirement age. That age was 65 at first. But as Baby Boomers began to collect their retirement insurance, the retirement age was raised to 66 or 67, depending on what year you were born. It was hoped that would keep the Social Security