First it was weapons of mass destruction.
Now it's Social Security. Doesn't the president have
anything better to do than create a crisis when there
is none?
President Bush claims Social Security is going broke. That is simply not true.
For the past 20 years, Social Security has been generating
a significant surplus, and it will continue to for at
least 13 more years. Even under the most pessimistic
long-range forecasts, payroll taxes in 2045 will fund
higher benefits after inflation than today's retirees
receive.
Social Security is a huge success. It has nearly eliminated severe poverty among
seniors and supports millions of children and disabled workers.
Privatizing Social Security will lower guaranteed benefits for everyone and require
trillions in new tax dollars to cover the transition. Private accounts would not
provide annual cost-of-living increases, family benefits, survivor benefits, and
lifetime guarantees, and would be devastated by crashes in the stock market. Privatization
would guarantee profits to investment firms and guarantee that millions more seniors,
children, and disabled workers would live in poverty.
There is a logic to this madness. By dismantling one
of the nation's most trusted and important programs,
Bush rewards hard-core conservatives who believe that
no government is good government. He rewards financial
interests that will profit from privatized accounts,
and he rewards the investment class that already has
the means and wherewithal to weather downturns in the
financial markets.
Instead of messing around with Social Security, here's
where we should focus attention.
First, we need to roll back the tax cuts on households
making over $200,000 annually. The 2004 federal deficit
is $477 billion, the same size as the entire Social
Security budget. Bush's tax cuts, which went mostly
to the wealthiest Americans, accounted for well over
half the deficit. According to analysis by the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities, between 2005 and 2014
the direct cost of enacted and proposed tax cuts will
total $2.8 trillion.
We also need to overhaul our nation's health insurance
system. The United States has by far the most expensive
health care in the world, but more than 20 other countries
have lower rates of infant mortality and longer life
expectancies. We spend 70 percent more of our economy
on health care than the average in Western Europe. We
are the only developed country that does not provide
universal health coverage. Not only does the health
care mess cost lives, it is killing U.S. businesses
in international competition and requiring federal and
state governments to pay billions in unnecessary expenses.
We can also strengthen our long-term economy by investing
more in the workforce and voters of tomorrow: our children.
Millions start kindergarten each year without the early
education they need to flourish in school. High-quality
preschool is the single investment that will have the
biggest payoff for our nation's children now and later.
The federal government has imposed strict new educational
standards on the K-12 system without providing sufficient
funding, while state governments are still reeling from
the impacts of recession. Our kids are not keeping up
with their peers in other countries. Meanwhile, college
is getting increasingly out of reach. The federal government
is cutting financial aid, and strapped states are raising
college tuitions. Workers in dying industries are flocking
to community and technical colleges to upgrade their
skills. We should be throwing open the doors of higher
education, not slamming them shut.
It turns out that what's good for the American economy
is also good for Social Security. Investing in education
at all levels and solving our health care mess are the
best ways to assure that our children have futures full
of hope and opportunity. They are also the best ways
to assure that the productivity of the workforce continues
to grow and that the promise of Social Security remains
strong for generations to come.
For 70 years, Social Security has knit the American
people together. It has given hope and security to millions
of senior citizens, disabled workers, and widows left
to raise young children on their own. It has strengthened
our families, our communities, and our democracy. It
is a precious legacy we must protect and pass on to
future generations.
Marilyn Watkins, PhD, is a member of the Real Change
Advisory Board and Economic Security and Tax Policies
Director at the Economic Opportunity Institute (www.eoionline.org),
a nonpartisan, nonprofit, public policy institute that
seeks to define policy debates on the issue of economic
security. |
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