Social Security: ‘Fix’ Is In

Re “Dollars, Sense and Social Security,” Commentary, Dec. 13: Olivia Mitchell and Thomas Saving warn us that we must act soon to save the Social Security system. Yet even by their own estimates, we have 14 years before benefits exceed revenue, plenty of time to craft a wise and fair solution if the system is indeed broken. Economists and other experts outside the Bush administration say the system is not broken and needs only minor tweaking. This rush to “save” Social Security reminds me of the Bush administration’s reckless rush to war with Iraq. In this new campaign, fear and the Big Lie will again be the administration’s weapons of choice, I’m sure.

Chuck Petithomme

Burbank

*

The Social Security program’s retirement provision might make its way, even with reduced funding, were the welfare programs for the disabled and survivors separately funded. The latter programs should fall into a new category of public support funded by income taxes of all citizens. The support, at present, is limited to those making $90,000 or less a year and funded by the nation’s workers. As the gulf between the super-rich and the middle class widens, the responsibility for taking care of the disadvantaged is removed for the wealthy and placed upon the common worker. This system is not working, and fooling around with silly patches is not going to change the fact.

Pierce J. Mullaly

Sun City

*

Mitchell and Saving allege that “by 2042 the trust fund will be used up, and there will still be a substantial shortfall between promised benefits and the amount payroll taxes bring in.” The authors attribute this conclusion to the Social Security actuaries, but the actuaries have provided several scenarios. It was the Social Security trustees who picked the above dire conclusion as “most likely” and now cite it as established fact. Any forecast can be made to show Social Security as going broke, if it is based on a sufficiently dismal economic future. How dismal? The authors’ forecast assumes an average annual gross domestic product growth of less than 2% during the 34 years from the end of the current administration through 2042. However, since World War II we have not had a decade with less than 3% average annual economic growth. If the trustees assumed a little higher growth, the payroll taxes would cover payments, the trust fund would never be drawn upon and the system would never have to be “fixed.”

Richard Rymer

Claremont