Social Security Reform: If Not Now, When?

On October 18, President Bush’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security meets again to examine how best to fix the faltering Social Security system.

Citizens for a Sound Economy’s President, Paul Beckner, issued the following statement regarding the Commission and why modernizing Social Security is more important than ever:

“Efforts to reform Social Security have been affected by the terrorist attacks. Surplus revenues have now been diverted to other priorities. This could lead to serious problems for Social Security. It is conceivable that the system that was once thought to be solvent for approximately 15 years could face insolvency in as little as 10 years.

“This is a problem that can only be addressed through personal ownership. If people were allowed to own their own retirement through personal retirement accounts, the insolvency of the Social Security System would not even be an issue.

“Social Security reform is more important than ever. As the economy continues to flounder, fewer tax revenues will be collected in Washington. If these revenues continue to decrease, the window of solvency of the Social Security system could be significantly shorter.

“Enacting Social Security reform now would bolster the slumping economy. According to many economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, one of the primary causes of our economic morass is the nation’s abysmal personal savings rate. Allowing individuals to invest a portion of their payroll tax contributions in private assets would immediately increase the rate of savings. The result would be a boon to the economy as more money would be available to entrepreneurs to start new businesses, create new jobs, and grow the economy.”