Stop the Raid! Start the Accounts!

Washington Times ^ | 05/13/05 | ceoinva

[ceoinva]

For decades, the federal government has raided the Social Security trust fund to finance other government spending. Social Security's surplus is taken each year to finance all the other federal programs, from foreign aid to welfare. It is time to stop this inexcusable raiding, and give the surplus instead to workers to start their own, individual, personal accounts. Indeed, the new bill introduced this year by Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, and Sen. John Sununu, New Hampshire Republican, phases in the accounts so over the first 10 years the account option is half its full size, allowing workers on average to shift about 3.2 percentage points of the full 12.4 percent payroll tax to the accounts. The total annual Social Security surpluses projected over the next 10 years, counting tax revenues and interest on the trust fund bonds, is enough to finance this Ryan-Sununu option during that period. Congress should consequently stop the raid on the Social Security trust funds and use the money to finance the first 10 years of Ryan-Sununu. The surplus would then finance the future retirement benefits of today's workers rather than other government spending. This is the only way to enact a true lockbox where the government can't get its hands on the money to fuel further runaway spending on other programs. To free the surpluses for the accounts, Congress must reduce its spending at least by the surplus of Social Security taxes over expenditures each year. That money belongs to the future retirement of working people and Congress shouldn't be spending it anyway.

[CPOSharky]

It is time to stop this inexcusable raiding, and give the surplus instead to workers to start their own, individual, personal accounts.

So, as soon as the money is taken from the paycheck it belongs to the gooberment. Then it can be 'given' to the worker.

Fits right in with the demonrat, "It will drive up the deficit" mantra.

[David]

The only real fix is to amend FICA to provide that the tax rate is reduced to the amount necessary to provide funds for the payout--and increases year on year to continue to provide enough funds for future payout's; perhaps with a lid; paying the excess from general funds.