Social Security Op-Ed

You've probably heard what George Bush and Republicans are saying: By the time you retire, Social Security won't exist. The truth is that the Congressional Budget Office numbers say the program is solvent until 2052, when we will be near 70 years old. Even then, Social Security will meet 80 percent of its obligations. If this is a crisis, the paper cut I just received is a medical emergency.
Bush calls his plan "personal accounts" because privatization doesn't sound quite as safe. His plan would cost nearly $5 trillion over the first 20 years, adding to the $420 billon deficit. That money needs to be paid off eventually, which means higher taxes, slower economic growth, and, higher interest rates on student loans.During Bush's State of the Union address he said that people over 55 are guaranteed not to have any benefit cuts under his privatization plan. Privatization would slash benefits by more than 40 percent by changing the way Social Security benefits are calculated, even for those who do not choose to open a private account. A young worker would lose about $152,000 in benefits under the leading privatization plan. What about a worker who has a spouse and two children who becomes disabled or dies at the age of 27? Right now Social Security provides the equivalent of a $403,000 life insurance policy and a $353,000 disability insurance policy.
Privatization would weaken Social Security by gutting the guaranteed benefit. Private accounts are not 100-percent stable, just ask the employees of Enron. The guaranteed benefit brings in a steady cash flow.
For 70 years, Social Security has been the bottom-line commitment to America's retired generations. Eighty-year-olds should not be forced into backbreaking labor to bring home enough money to eat. This is an enduring social principle.Surely some will protest: but there's still a paper cut, we need to fix the problem. At this point, though, we should remember that even the paper cut is a prophecy foreseeing the future from 50 years away. Even if Social Security does fall short, there are reform solutions that can solve the problem without upending the American social contract. A bipartisan effort can be made to create a solution just like Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill did to solve the Social Security problem in 1983.We cannot afford to trust just one side of the aisle on such a crucial issue. If we learned one lesson from the Iraq War, it is that this administration will play fast and loose with facts and figures to achieve its goals. This administration played those games with our generation once and ended up with a war and a potential draft.They are playing the same games again. This time the threat affects our grandparents, our parents, and us. Don't let George W. Bush cut Social Security's benefits; instead let's fight to keep the promise of Social Security alive for our generation and the generations to come.


Javier A. Brown
President, College Democrats of Georgia