Letters to the Editor: Bush offers Social Security solutions

Editor:

Like it or not, our Social Security system is in trouble. By 2018, the system will begin paying out more benefits than it receives in tax money. In 2042, the system will be completely bankrupt. On the surface this problem does not seem immediate because those dates are not in the near future. However, Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman said recently, “For every year we delay trying to solve the Social Security problem, we add $600 billion to the ultimate price tag for solving the system.” Based on that figure alone, a solution needs to be made as soon as possible.

President Bush has proposed an idea that would allow young workers to keep a portion of their tax for personal investment accounts. This idea will not solve the problem but only alleviate some of the future burden on Social Security. It allows workers to invest the money with the great possibility of earning more than they would receive from future Social Security benefits. As some critics have pointed out, there is a possibility that the accounts could lose value. For that reason, the accounts would be purely voluntary. What is the problem with giving workers an option to invest their money?

Many Americans also criticize President Bush for not laying out a clear plan. We must remember, though, that the role of the President in our government is not to present a clear plan but to propose new ideas to Congress. Clearly, the personal savings accounts will not fix the entire problem, but should be considered as a part of the entire solution. As a result, Congress and the American people should explore every option in order to find the best plan for Social Security before discrediting personal savings accounts.

Sam Rauschenberg
Sophomore
Political Science

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 8 2005. Filed under Letters to the Editor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry