Speakout: Social Security logjam in Congress

By Leanne Abdnor
Published: Rocky Mountain News (CO), October 14, 2005

They say that, in life, timing is everything. Maybe it can be said that President Bush's timing was not ideal when he forged ahead on the issue of Social Security. Even before the recent hurricane disasters, members of Congress were, at best, dragging their feet on the issue. Now, the media are claiming that the issue is dead. However, the president remains committed to the issue. Members of Congress who are hoping that Social Security's problems will simply go away on their own are living in a fool's paradise. The shortfalls ahead in Social Security get bigger with each year and congressional inaction is irresponsible and intolerable.

This year, President Bush traveled throughout the country explaining to the American public and the Congress that the problems ahead in Social Security are massive and must be dealt with as soon as possible. In a private meeting last month with those of us who served on his 2001 bipartisan Social Security commission, the president told us that his determination and commitment to moving forward on Social Security reform is undiminished. It was clear to us that he intends to ramp up his efforts early next year, at the latest.

However, it is the Congress that controls the future of Social Security. Publicly, most members of Congress state that the system is broken and must be fixed. But the reality is that no Democratic member of Congress - not one - has been willing to sit down to negotiate because their party leaders believe that by holding out, they will gain more seats in next year's election. And a significant number of Republican members of Congress won't move forward without Democratic support, believing that if they do, they'll lose seats in the next election. The politics of power have overtaken policy.

Congress needs to be reminded of two things, and urgently. First, objective experts have told us for years that Social Security's problems aren't going to go away - in fact, they just get worse with the passage of time. Second, Congress can and must deal with more than one issue at a time - just as we need the federal government to guard against both terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Ignoring this responsibility will doom American workers and the economy to serious and unpleasant consequences.

One of Social Security's foremost nonpartisan experts is the U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, who has audited the federal government's books for more than a decade. In testimony before Congress, Walker advised: "Our Social Security challenge is more urgent than it may appear. Failure to take remedial action will . . . lead to a situation unsustainable for both the federal government and ultimately, the economy." He warned that the Social Security "problem gets bigger every day, and the tidal wave gets closer every day."

Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, also cautioned Congress that "the demographics are inexorable." He asserts that "early initiatives to address the economic effects of the baby boom retirements could smooth the transition . . . If we delay, the adjustments could be abrupt and painful."

Don't be fooled by those who say the problem is far off. Objective experts say otherwise. The Social Security trustees say that in 2008, the baby boom generation begins to retire and the excess Social Security taxes paid by workers will begin to diminish. A few years later, by 2017, the cash deficits start getting larger each year - and Congress will have to decide whether to raise taxes or cut benefits. The problems are just around the corner. We need to insist that our elected officials not wait until a disaster hits before acting.

Leanne Abdnor was a member of the 2001 President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security and is now president of For Our Grandchildren. She lives in Boulder.