The Nation - News from Feb. 15, 1989

A House task force recommended removing the Social Security trust fund from calculations of the federal deficit because it makes the budget picture too optimistic and undermines the retirement program. “The Social Security trust funds represent an opportunity for current workers to save for their retirement,” the report said. “But, they cannot have this effect if they are used simply to offset current deficits in other federal accounts.” The task force, appointed by House Democrats Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota and Mary Rose Oakar of Ohio, included a bipartisan group of economists. The 1983 revisions to the Social Security law increased retirement taxes on workers to build up a surplus to protect the baby boom generation when it retires.