Living With Social Security: Small Dreams and Safety Nets - New York Times: "GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Barbara Amberg used her Social Security checks to fly to New York and see Christo's 'Gates' in Central Park. Shirley Malone lives on hers in subsidized public housing, sometimes washing her clothes in dish detergent to save money.

For Joseph Cohen, a businessman who lost his business, Social Security is the safety net he never thought he would need. 'We're talking about a fortunate guy who had assets to put away,' Mr. Cohen said. 'But without Social Security I would be in bad shape.'

As Congressional Republicans struggle to break a partisan impasse over President Bush's plan to reinvent Social Security and shore up its finances, 32 million older Americans are living the realities of the nation's biggest social program."