I agree whole-heartedly with the good doctor's assessment. I waited over a year to apply for my benefits, because I didn't want to be seen as just another person on the "government dole". It was a painful decision to make, and if I hadn't had three children to think of, I'm sure I would have held off much longer.

Even now I get embarrassed by the government checks that come in the mail. I feel like the Postmaster and everyone who sees them must judge me in some way for receiving those checks. Up until the age of forty, I had never received a dime in government support, even when I was entitled to it in the form of unemployment.

I was taught to earn my way, and anything else seems somehow like a failure to me. It doesn't help that certain members of my family keep making snide comments about how they are "supporting me" through their taxes. I thought Social Security was supposed to be an insurance? If not, then why did I pay in so much money over the many years that I worked?