What is the one thing that the Democratic Party, the AARP, and the AFL-CIO all have in common? They all delight in scaring the hell out of old people. Al Gore may not have created the Internet but he certainly created the left-wing’s strategy opposing Social Security reform. Al’s idea was to create an imaginary “lock box” for the money withheld for Social Security; our government would neither invest this money nor lend it out. What went into Social Security would stay in Social Security. The only small problem with the plan is basic accounting; by 2018 Social Security will pay out more money than it takes in and will therefore bankrupt itself by 2042.
If we continue to follow the Clinton-Gore legacy of inertia the system will be bankrupt by 2042. Neither Al Gore, as a member of Congress, Senator Hilary Clinton or any other current Democratic member of Congress has ever purposed a single piece of legislation to protect the future of Social Security. The system was created by an act of Congress and can only be reformed through congressional legislation. President Bush is constitutionally powerless to change Social Security. The needed reforms he is currently proposing are recommendations to Congress. The President’s powers derive from the Constitution. He is a part of the executive branch: the President proposes, Congress disposes. Only Congress can reform Social Security through legislation which Republicans seem willing to do. Except Democrats have not only stone-walled all attempts at “self-help”, they have failed to produce one piece of legislation to reform a system that they know will be bankrupt in most of our lifetimes. They have simply been scaring the elderly and milking this scared cow for votes while President Bush has been working on a plan to secure Social Security for future generations.
The Republican plan does not affect Social Security recipients born before 1950. That means that is you are 55 or older your current and future benefits will not be affected. Your scared cow is safe. The only people that need to fear the future of Social Security are the younger generation. Back in the 1950’s there were sixteen people paying into Social Security for every one receiving benefits, today that number is 3 to1 and by 2008 that number will drop to 2 to1. If the Democrats get their way and stop reform then, according to the White House statisticians “today’s 30-year-old worker will face a 27% benefit cut when he or she reaches normal retirement age.”
A system where two taxpayers pay to support one retiree will need to find new income to stay afloat. The choices are clear: we can institute massive tax increases, cut Social Security benefits, increase the national deficit or responsibly invest our Social Security dollars into in the United States economy. One option is low risk diversified investment of our present withholding dollars in America’s Fortune 500 companies. The Fortune 500 is the backbone of this nation’s economy and has been for the last 50 years. The reality is, this is an investment worth making.
