SOCIAL SECURITY
NEWS
By: D. C. Nichols
This is the third a.id last of a
three-part answer to an import
ant and timely question “Am
I getting my money’s woth
from the Social Security taxes
I’m paying?” The first two parts
were published in The Yancey
Record (the last two weeks).
Since this is a system of “Soc
ial” Security rather than indivi
dual security, it should be ap
praised primarily in terms of
the protection and security it
gives the American people a
gain.st the, risks of old age, dis
ahilityyand death.
I-ooked at another way—
this program can be gauged by
tht' extent to which it succeeds
in preventing want, deprivation
and dependency in our demo
cratic country.
Aside from any moral or hu
mane concern, each individual
Social Security taxpayer has
more than one financial interest
in preventing destitution and de
pen s ary For instance to the
ext. re dependency is net pre
v.n'ed payments by the Na
ts v rssistnac 'welfare* pro
out of general revenues
win naturally increase in re
sp. n c o to democratic pressures.
cording to the most inform
er! v»j plausible estimate that
we ac seen if there were
oil Security program the
*»!• assistance rolls would be
at i quadrupled, at over 4
t,ro. >, ir present yearly cost.
1 benefit structure of Soc
ial security is purposely design
ed to give relatively more pro
tect vn to those who, in the judg
ment of Congress, need it most:
rn ■■ ivilh families, low-income
w ’dors ~nd workers who were
co> Ktrativoly near to retire
mffc .icc when their work was
covered by the program.
U ■'■ever, the average worker
<;t expect to collect much more
than die value of his social sec
ure , ax contributions just in
the enefit payable to him and
h' wife in retirement <propir
tiona.ely more if they live be
yond and less if they do not
react, 'he average life expect
ancy > Hpt if a married man
National Forests
Report Big
Business In 1967
Tlu- National Forests in North
Can lina did a million dollar
business in Fiscal Year 1967, ac
cording to Forest Supervisor
Peter .1 Hanlon
"According to final reports
just in", said Mr. Hanlon, "we
made 494 timber sales last year.
There sales had a total volume
of nearly 63 million board feet
of timber - enough to build 6,300
average sized homes. Os course,
a lot of what we sold made fut
niture, paper and ether forest
products.”
National Forest timber is
marked frr sale and sold to the
highest bidder through sealed
bids. Twenty-five percent of the
sale price is returned to the
counties in which National For
est lands lie. The money is spent
fer roads.
While furnishing recreational
oppertunities, clean water and a
habitat for wildlife National
Forests make an important con
tribute n to the forest product*
industries in North Carolina.
District Ranger Heltcn Carmi
chael of Burnsville added that
P. 900.00 hoard feet of timber was
sold from the Tcecane Ranger
District This timber had a val
ue of $120,140 45.
THE YANCEY RECORD
with three small children be
comes disabled or dies in his
twenties, thirties, or even later,
his family can get benefits to
talling far more than the social
security taxes he has paid.
Monthly survivors benefits are,
in fact, payable to the widow
and children of a young man
who had worked and paid the so
cial security taxes for as little
as a year and a half provided it
was during the three years be
fore his death. Monthly pay
ments to a surviving widow and
\wo rr m"re children range from
$66 to $368 a month, depending
cn the workers’ average earn
ings under Social Security.
Example:- A young father of
two small children, both under
5, is killed in an automobile ac
: : yWm
At Our Annual SUMMER
Bargains Galora Throughout The Store
JEAN CASTLE SHIRTS - m
BLOUSES - SKIRTS ft
R«g. SB.OO Now st.oo Jl
Reg. $6.00 Now $4.50 \4
fJUNE FOX Jr. DRESSES ' *
Reg. $15.00 Now $ll.OO
PURITAN FOREVER YOUNG
ALL REDUCED.
JEAN CASTLE SHORTS (R & JS
Reg. $6.00 Now $4.88 U TO ff*
Reg. $6. Now $4.88
Children’s Hushpuppies
Beg. $6.99—53.00
Women’s Shoes - One Table
Reg. $6.95—57.95 - Now $2.00—53.00
J. F. ROBINSON, Gen. Mdse.
CANE RIVER, N.C.
cident. His average earnings
covered by social security were
$450 a month. His widow and
children can receive as much as
$328 in monthly benefits, or
nearly S4OOO a year. By the time
the older child reaches 18 this
family can draw over $51,000.
But the widow, unless remar
ried, can continue receiving be
nefits for herself, and in any
rise for the younger (and also
un narried) child until that child
the children can get benefit pay
ments until each reaches age 28
if they continue their education,
remaining unmarried. Benefits
mav be paid indefinitely to a
disabled child. And most wid
ows can get monthly benefits
for life beginning at age 6s.
AMARILLO, Tex. Airman
Johnny I. Robinson, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Jonathan Robinson of
Rt. 5, Burnsville, N. C. t has
been selected for technical tra
ining as aircraft structural re
pairman at Amarillo AFB, Tex.
The airman, who has just com
pleted U. S. Air Force basic
training at Amarillo, is a mem
ber of the Air Training Com
mand which conducts hundreds
of specialized courses to provide
the technically trained person
nel for our national aerospace
force.
<Airman Robinson is a 1966
graduate of East Yancey High
School.
NOTICE
The Yancey County Selective
Service Office is now open. Miss
Glenna Lee Ray is cleric.
THURSDAY. AUGUST 3, 1967
Men In Service
FT. POLK, LA. (AHTNC)
Army Private Virgil R. Woody,
sen of Mrs. Myra E. Woody, RL
1, Green Mountain, N. C., com
pleted nine weeks of advanced
infantry training July 21 at Ft.
Polk, La. His last week of train
ing was spent in guerrilla war
fare exercises.
During his guerrilla training
he lived under simulated Viet
nam conditions for five days,
fighting off night attacks and
conducting raids on “enemy’*
villages. He was taught methods
of removing booby traps, setting
ambushes, and avoiding enemy
ambushes.
Other specialized training In
cluded small unit tactics, Lnap
reading, land mine warfare,
communications, and firing the
M-14 rifle, machine gun and
3.5-inch rocket launcher.