We agree that Americans deserve an honest debate over the future of Social Security (“The tools to fix Social Security,” Editorial, Dec. 14). Unfortunately, it is the forces behind privatization that are engaged in scaremongering, not the defenders of the program.
Despite what the privatizers say, Social Security is not broke. The system has sufficient revenue and assets to pay full benefits until at least 2042. What’s more, past predictions of doom by the privatizers have proven to be wrong. In 1997, for example, the program’s shortfall was supposed to start in 2029, 13 years earlier than the current projection.
The program’s future revenue needs could be easily solved by raising the cap on income subject to the payroll tax, which would affect only the wealthiest 6 percent of participants. They, in turn, would receive higher benefits.
It is not scaremongering to point out the very real dangers associated with privatization of Social Security. Private accounts by their nature will drain billions out of the Social Security program. Whatever promises are made now, current retirees to fear that such a diversion will endanger their benefits.
It is also realistic for workers to fear that private accounts will only replace a fraction of lost Social Security benefits. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a diversion of 2 percent of payroll to private accounts would require a benefit cut of 41 percent for workers currently in their 50s.
What’s more, accounting gimmicks cannot hide the fact that the White House intent to pay for privatization by adding $2 trillion to the nation’s debt could have disastrous consequences for our economy. Retirement security is steadily eroding in today’s economy. American families need the safety net of Social Security’s guaranteed lifetime benefits now more than ever.
