Reforming Social Security

Editorials

October 20, 2006

Anonymous The Daily Southerner Fri Oct 20, 2006, 12:27 PM EDT

Social Security reform was supposed to be a Bush administration priority in this term. It was introduced with a lot of promise and the president conducted numerous town meetings across the country. Congress balked, however, and the issue fell flat.

Each year the problem goes unfixed, it costs $600 billion more. There may not be a program for younger workers because the system will be bankrupt by sometime around the year 2040. Those of us younger than 55 who are paying for the retirement of baby boomers – and especially our children and grandchildren – may never see a dime of the money we've put into the program.

In order to change that, Congress must first admit there's a problem and then take drastic action to fix it.

While Republicans at least acknowledge the looming crisis, most Democrats refuse to come to the table to discuss possible solutions.

One thing the two parties should be able to accept is that it's time to stop using the Social Security surplus to balance the federal budget. While it may appear as though the debt will increase, it's more a matter of honest budgeting. A bill addressing that issue went nowhere last year.

Social Security was never meant to be a retirement plan. It was meant to supplement savings. ... We still support allowing younger workers the option to put away a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal savings accounts to begin taking responsibility for their own retirement.

Personal accounts are just one piece of the complex Social Security puzzle, but they are an important part because they have a better chance of preserving at least some of the payroll taxes the younger generation is paying into the system for themselves and their beneficiaries.

We have serious reservations about making Social Security another welfare program, as has been discussed in a limited way through a proposal called "progressive indexing" or means testing benefits, but at least it's an idea that can be used as a jumping-off point for debate.

The next Congress must have the political will to address Social Security for the long term.

Let's get to the table in 2007 and get serious about true Social Security reform.

— The Truth, Elkhart, Ind.

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Editorials

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