Must act now to save Social Security

Must act now to save Social Security

The way Washington is working or not working suggests it has adopted as an official slogan, “Don’t just do something, stand there.” Washington has come to a virtual standstill. The president is becoming more and more unpopular and Congress even more so. Legislation that traditionally had bipartisan support, such as highway bills, can’t budge. And if we can’t find common ground on such basic government functions as road building, the outlook is bleak for more challenging bills such as immigration reform and the national debt.

An unwritten rule has become clear: The bigger the issue, the smaller the response. And that is notably true for Social Security.

Social Security has been and remains a crucial piece of the social safety net. The program provides $863 billion in benefits to more than 59 million retired workers, disabled workers and survivors of deceased workers. The program lifts over 22 million Americans out of poverty and is the major source of income for most retired workers.

Social Security today consumes almost a quarter of the entire federal budget. And that number is growing, and that’s why I’m writing this. I wholeheartedly support Social Security, but it’s time we all acknowledge that the math underpinning Social Security requires our leaders to take action.

Fact: For the past four years, Social Security has been running deficits. The trust fund has been paying out more in benefits than it collects in revenues. These deficits aren’t temporary either. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has determined that by 2032 the Social Security trust fund will run out of money. When that happens, all beneficiaries, including low-income retirees at the poverty level, will receive an immediate 23 percent cut in their benefits just to keep the program afloat.

The situation is simple: Baby boomers are retiring, we’re living longer and we’re retiring younger. Fixing it, however, challenges politicians. If we act now, we can make modest changes that will be enough to protect the program. We can spread smaller changes over more years and generations. But if we wait until Social Security is out of money, restoring solvency will require abrupt changes in benefits and/or taxes.

We cannot continue to listen to the fear mongers, such as the ones who say any changes to Social Security will result in cuts that hurt blue-collar workers, or the others who claim the only way to save Social Security is with massive tax increases.

It doesn’t matter how Congress goes about the reform: It can form a commission, create a super committee, appoint a study group. Whatever method is used must acknowledge the magnitude of the problem and the tradeoffs that are necessary.

Ask your congressmen what they are doing to ensure the future of Social Security. Don’t let them leave it to the next member of Congress who will represent you. And don’t let them leave it to the next generation to solve. If you fail to act and influence your representatives, you will have no right to complain when the collapse comes.