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The cost of waiting
June 15th 02:23:49 PM
While Democrats (and some Republicans!) engage in a game of brinksmanship over solutions to the Social Security crisis, it is my generation that pays the price. Each day we ignore the Social Security crisis is a day we lose an opportunity to lessen the burden on young people. While politicians focus on the difficulties financing various reform plans, they continue to waste dollars by squandering one of our biggest assets: time.
The quicker reform legislation is passed, the more time my generation has to begin making up the short falls of the current system. The faster we have personal accounts, the faster Congress can be halted from spending the trust fund dollars that should be protected for future retirees.
In the not too distant past, a young representative from Tennessee named Harold Ford showed Americans that his mind was open to personal accounts, acknowledging the shortfalls of the current system. He said: "the existing system, which prevents poverty...does not allow low- and middle-income workers to build assets and create wealth."
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/tn09_ford/20030916socialsecurity.html
While Rep. Ford was cautious about the transition cost of particular plans, his openness to personal accounts as a workable model for the creation of wealth represents an ability to reach across the aisle and work with both parties to find a solution that is in the best interests of all Americans.
I applaud Rep. Ford for this courage and call upon him and other open-minded Democrats to show, not that they will simply succumb to the will of the current Administration, but to show openness to the idea of personal accounts and the willingness to come to the negotiating table. They owe it to their constituents, particularly those of my generation, to acknowledge that a problem exists and that Congress needs to collaborate on a solution as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the greater the burden.
-Patrick Wetherille
Posted by Jonathan Swanson
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