Two years ago I commented on Jim McDermott's defense of the current Social Security system when George Bush proposed privatization. At that time, McDermott was on the defense. Now he's on offense and coming after our hard-earned savings. I ask this of my fellow West Seattleites who plan to re-elect him. Are you so willing to submit to 21st-century serfdom, all for the sake of ideology?

This past week while the media was obsessing over Sarah Palin's wardrobe, or the latest political mud slinging, Congress started debating a very nasty piece of legislation that we all should view as party-agnostic, and potentially the biggest grab of private property to ever occur. To see this in perspective, let me digress a few weeks to the constitutional travesty, which has been euphemistically called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 - otherwise known as the "$700B bailout."

A year ago, I never would have imagined the federal government owning a stake in private financial institutions. I would envision that everyone - Democrat, Republican or independent - would be asking, "Where is the money going to come from?" Will the federal government print it, leading to inflation, or will it go on bended knee to Dubai or China and beg for more loans? Well, part of the answer is that the feds are coming for more of our money in the most shameful of ways - with Mr. McDermott leading the charge.

McDermott, as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, is endorsing proposals to overhaul the nation's $3 trillion 401k system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401k investors receive. As he and George Miller (D-Calif.) propose, the money we have been voluntarily saving will be redirected to a new system of guaranteed retirement accounts to which all workers will be obliged to contribute. And know this: part of the current proposal is that the government will take over your existing 401k, and only give you credit for half, which will go into your Social Security account for your retirement. You will receive a "guaranteed" 3 percent only on that half. Who knows where the rest will go.

McDermott will justify this larceny as necessary to protect us from the bandits and bloodletting which we've experienced in the stock market these past few weeks. No doubt there has been criminal behavior which should be punished. But before you submit to this madness, ask yourself: What kind of track record does the government have with your hard-earned money? For instance, you and your employer have annually paid over 12 percent of your gross income into Social Security. We're told this money goes into a "trust fund," but that is a lie. There is nothing in this fund but treasury bills the government has issued to itself. It would be the same as if I paid my wife for a massage (she is a licensed practitioner), and then declared the payment as family income. Social Security benefits were supposed to be tax free. That changed when the government needed more money. The whole system is bankrupt. They know it, and they are looking for another bailout.

The real reason for this outrage is that the government is at the financial end of its rope. It just authorized $700B to The Bailout, and Congress has no idea how to pay for it. Instead of practicing financial responsibility as we are expected to do, they want to dig deeper into our pockets to pay for their pet projects. Are you outraged at the thought that you have exercised fiscal restraint and denied yourself discretionary money over many years by contributing to a private 401k, just to see Congress take it away by legislative fiat? Are you incredulous that this time the government will live up to its promise and put that money away for your future? Are you furious that McDermott and others may take away your personal property and make you beholden to a government social insurance program, while he and every other congressman and senator receives a 100 percent pension upon retirement, and currently contributes into a private retirement account - the Thrift Savings Plan?

I ask my fellow West Seattleites to thoughtfully consider these matters before you "pull the lever" for McDermott on Nov. 4. Further, please be open to the notion that the whole system is corrupt and we need to fiercely hold our officials accountable, or throw them out - Republican or Democrat.

Thomas Shafer

Seaview