November 20th, 2006

November 15th, 2006

Ryan Bilodeau is organizing a bake sale at the University of Rhode Island today.  But this is no ordinary bake sale, it is a Social Security bake sale!  This means that prices will be based on the seniority of each student, with first year students paying the most per baked good.  Great job, Ryan!

Read the press release here.

November 13th, 2006

"

We went to Santa Barbara for YAF's West Coast Leadership Conference. There were around 500 conservative college students and 3 radical (as in- super cool!) S4 staffers.  So clearly, it was a good time.  The PRA love was spread all over the place. 

November 09th, 2006

Make sure to cast your vote Tuesday.  With a lot of close races for the House and Senate, every vote counts!  If you are having trouble deciding which candidate to vote for, check out the results of the S4 survey or the For Our Grandchildren pledge. 

Social Security will continue to be a top domestic issue until Congress passes reform.  Let's make our voices heard!

November 06th, 2006

Here at S4, we talk a lot about the unfairness of social security. The "FREE Snickers Game" is a game that really highlights that for anyone who participates. 

Everyone who plays IS a winner, they just have to get a couple balls into the basket.  The game is advertised showing a giant king size Snickers as the free prize.  But, just like Social Security, (we are most likely NOT going to get the benefits we've paid for our entire lives), upon completion of the game, the winners get a tiny little Snickers bar. 

Last week, students at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon learned about the unfairness of social security by participating in the game.  Check out this video to see how bad it made one student feel to actually experience not getting what he had expected.

Social Security trust fund surplus per worker

* Assumes 4% interest.
Source: Social Security Administration, 2005.  Printed in the Wall Street Journal.

November 03rd, 2006

A recent article in The Tennesseean reveals that young voters are turning out in droves, even for the mid-term elections, which historically have low turnout across the board.

One in three 18-24 year olds are expected to turn out at the polls, according to a survey by Harvard's Institute of Politics. That would be the best attendance record in two decades.

And that represents almost a ten percent increase from just four years ago:

Less than a fifth of the nation's 18-24 year olds voted in the mid-term election in 2002. About a third of 25-34 year olds cast ballots, according to census data.

Signs that generation Y (generation "web", generation "tech", or whatever you want to call us) are more politically aware than previous generations is everywhere. Just look at all of the organizations that cater to young people who are becoming active in politics at an earlier age.

And the message this sends to our elected officials? We vote and we know what issues are important to us.

In an interesting series of events, AARP is now helping Democratic Congressional candidates back away from endorsing payroll tax increases, a position that AARP supports.  The Wall Street Journal offers insight into how this likely came about and what the implications are.

The story from AARP is that candidates who supported a "balanced Social Security plan" did not mean to suggest that tax increases should be a part of that plan.  While it is nice to see people back away from a tax increase, one has to wonder what the candidates thought a balanced plan without the increases would look like.  They could not have considered benefit reductions alone to be a balanced plan.  And with Democrats opposing progressive indexing for fear of pushing Social Security closer to a welfare program, we know that indexing was not part of a balanced plan either. 

Which leaves an increase in the payroll taxes of all workers or an upward adjustment of the contributory cap.  It is not clear why Democratic candidates don't oppose the latter for the same reason they are against progressive indexing, but the Wall Street Journal makes a strong case that candidates did indeed have a cap increase in mind.  As the editorial notes, the balanced plan supported by AARP consists of benefit cuts and "additional contributions from high income workers."

If the candidate disagreement with AARP concerns increasing or eliminating the contributory cap--and assuming this disagreement actually exists--the candidates should clear the confusion by explaining what they meant by a "balanced Social Security plan."  We should not let these folks off the hook by explaining yet again what they do not support; we should demand that prior to the election, they explain what they actually do.

November 02nd, 2006

America is Listening, a new website that aims to educate people about the Social Security crisis, has released some new videos.

Here's the teaser, but head on over to their site to watch the full version: America is Listening.

October 31st, 2006

Financial advisor Russell Bailyn is coming out with a personal finance book this summer titled Surfing the Investment Blogosphere, and he plans to include S4 in his discussion of Social Security.  The author offers a preview of the book with "Solving the Social Security Problem in America", which is posted on his blog. 

Because he is young, Bailyn provides an interesting perspective on reform.  He relates to people our age who don't lose sleep over future benefits, but he also realizes that it is "irresponsible logic" not to care about the future of Social Security.  Bailyn gives the debate a pretty fair look, especially in noting the potential solutions to the shortfall.  On raising payroll taxes, he writes, "We've been trying this for about 70 years.  It just doesn't seem to work." 

What will work?  We don't want to give it away, but Bailyn does know of something that is "the only solution currently on the table which makes sense."  Find out what it is here.