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October 04th, 2006Social Security "Unsustainable"
October 04th 01:57:38 PM
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At a meeting today in Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke talked about the need for entitlement reform. "The imperative to undertake reform earlier rather than later is great," Bernanke said.
Though the chairman kept his remarks general, Bernanke provided a clear, apolitical view of the financial burdens our country faces with the growth of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. As he noted, "The fiscal consequences of these trends are large and unavoidable."
Today marked the first time that Bernanke spoke directly about the need for entitlement reform, but it's not the first time a Fed chairman has cautioned the American public about our underfunded liabilities. Former Chairman Alan Greenspan expressed concern last year, specifically with regard to raising taxes as a potential solution: "[T]ax increases of sufficient dimension to deal with our looming fiscal problems arguably pose significant risks to economic growth and the revenue base."
While Bernanke stopped short of recommending a course of action, we hope the current chairman agrees with Greenspan's view. Instead of dropping money from a chopper, perhaps the chairmen can dump some water on this blaze before it consumes 50% of our GDP.
Read about Bernanke's statements here. |
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Posted by Ryan Lynch| Comments (0)
October 02nd, 2006Progressives on the Tracks and Chaz on Red State
October 02nd 02:49:26 PM
Acting National Director Chaz Cirame Blogged at RedState.com about Progressives sitting on the tracks of the Social Security Reform Train and Sebastian Mallaby's amazing column in today's Washington Post.
Check it out.
Red State
Posted by Chaz Cirame| Comments (0)
September 29th, 2006Ryan Lynch is OFF THE HOOK!
September 29th 02:05:41 PM
Ryan got ANOTHER letter to the editor published...this time down in Florida. He makes some great points...check it out here. Way to go Ryan!!
Posted by Evan Dent| Comments (0)
Congressman Tim Penny on Social Security Reform
September 29th 11:32:37 AM
Over at For Our Grandchildren, former Democratic Congressman Tim Penny has a video up on Social Security Reform.
It's a must see, so check it out here!
Posted by Jeremy Tunnell| Comments (0)
SOCIAL SECURITY BAKE SALES ROCK!!
September 29th 10:53:41 AM
YAY for our Tufts' S4 Chapter! They held a social Security bake sale earlier this week...check out the pics
Never heard of a Social Security Bake Sale? Well, not only is it a great excuse to eat yummy baked goods, but its also an opportunity to highlight the unfairness of our current Social Security system. The baked goods are sold at different prices...so the younger students have to pay more than the older ones. At Tufts, they charged 6 bucks for the freshman....and for Seniors, only 1 dollar !! Crazy huh? Obviously, with pricing like that, we can get people's attention and spark conversations about Social Security and why Congress needs to make some reforms so our generation won't get screwed when we retire.
Way to spread the PRA-love Tufts!! Keep up the good work!!
Posted by Evan Dent| Comments (1)
September 28th, 2006"Pirateers" Raid Trust Fund, Turn a Blind Eye to Looming Crisis
September 28th 12:19:34 PM
Former Democratic Congressmen Tim Penny and Charlie Stenholm are being criticized for--get ready--wanting to keep all Social Security reform options on the table. The attacks against the “privatizers,” as they are incorrectly called, come from Americans United and other Raiders of the Lost Trust Fund.
Messrs. Penny and Stenholm support choice and ownership, condemnable views among those who want to do nothing. Literally nothing. The motto among some reform opponents is “hands off of Social Security,” and they aren't talking about a laissez-faire, free market solution to the program's underfunded liabilities.
The tale according to the do-nothings is that there is no financial crisis in Social Security, and supporters of personal accounts are scary monsters.
“There is fiction in the space between/You and reality,” Tracy Chapman sings in her “Telling Stories.” She goes on:
[F]or posterity
You write the words and make believe
There is truth in the space between.
Honesty and cooperation are the best things for this debate, and we're hoping that opponents of personal accounts show some concern for posterity by offering solutions.
Posted by Ryan Lynch| Comments (1)
September 27th, 2006That's for the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Might want to hang on to that one.
September 27th 02:11:56 PM
In the movie “Dumb and Dumber,” a couple of poor
fellows named Lloyd and Harry travel across the
country to return a suitcase full of money to its
rightful owner. The cash never makes it that far,
though. Instead, Lloyd and Harry begin spending
freely and replacing the money with IOU notes that
they can't afford to pay.
And so it is with the Social Security program.
Congress spends the Social Security surplus and writes
an IOU for the “trust fund,” accounting for every cent
along the way. But what happens when we cash in the
IOUs? Where is the government going to get the money
it owes, if not from taxpayers?
Maybe Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid know.
They, too, are against Social Security reform, and
they have promised to oppose personal accounts. But
here are two facts we want them to hang on to:
1) 2 out of 3 young people support personal accounts
2) The Social Security program begins taking in less than
it pays in benefits in 2017.
Personal accounts will fix Social Security. It's stupid
to think otherwise.
Posted by Ryan Lynch| Comments (0)
September 26th, 2006Conversations with Seniors
September 26th 05:32:59 PM
A few weeks ago, some S4 members teamed up with senior citizens in Oregon to discuss policy issues that effect the lives of Americans of all ages. All of us here at S4 see the future of Social Security as one of the most pressing policy issue that citizens should be concerned about. But many of the Seniors have been misled by groups like AARP, so we used our time with them to help dispel the myths, provide facts that demonstate how the current system is going bankrupt and possible solutions Congress should legislate.
After talking with the Seniors, we all reached the same conclusion: we all valued having personal choice and ownership when it comes to finances today and in the future.
Today, some S4 members went back to the retirement home and met with the same Seniors to write letters to Oregon's Senators. Pictured below, you can see the action!
 
The letters urged the Senators to reform Social Security by including "two critical elements, a secure benefit for those of us who are now retired and Personal Retirement Accounts for those of us just entering the workforce."
All in all, the cross generational discussion was a great way to bring students and seniors together and show Congress it must do something about the current system. Now we just need to figure out how we can get our Ostrich involved in the whole process!
Posted by Evan Dent| Comments (2)
September 22nd, 2006QUOTE OF THE WEEK
September 22nd 02:19:34 PM
"Blessed are the young, for they will inherit the national debt."
- Herbert Hoover
Posted by Chaz Cirame| Comments (0)
September 21st, 2006My Ball is Crystal, Yours is Glass
September 21st 05:28:42 PM
The opposition to personal accounts consists largely in the “safety net” analogy. That is, the Social Security program cannot include individual investment in the stock market because our government must provide some basic financial assistance in case the market crashes.
Let's forget for a moment that diversified accounts held for a long period of time almost always increase in value. The response to this opposition is simple: People can opt out of personal accounts.
That's it. The accounts are voluntary. No one will be forced to invest in the market. No one will be forced to increase his or her savings.
It is at this point that the argument changes a little bit. Most opponents of personal accounts, when pressed, admit that they would prefer a personal retirement account for themselves or their children. But, they argue, those “most at risk” may not make good investment decisions and may wind up losing money.
This is basically the safety net argument, but it's slightly more subtle. And it's a bit more paternal. The argument here is that people who, in the opinion of personal account opponents, should not invest in the market will decide for themselves that they can bear the risk.
So why don't anti-privateers allow wealthy people to opt in to personal accounts and forbid the financially unstable from doing so? Isn't that really what they want?
Maybe they can see that in a future of personal accounts, those who decided to opt out won't be too happy. And, not knowing how to take responsibility themselves, perhaps those “most at risk” will blame the people who told them not to invest.
Posted by Ryan Lynch| Comments (0)
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