Social Security is at the heart of America and has been since 1935. It is a social insurance system, to which 90 percent of us Americans belong. Like any insurance plan, it is to be there when we need it.
As of 2008, one in seven Americans were served by some form of Social Security, due to disability, old age, death of the principal family breadwinner, or illness. All of these beneficiaries have paid into the Social Security Trust Fund, the source of payment for these services.
That the Trust Fund is running low is not in doubt; what we do about it is.
Privatization is not the answer. Consider what would have happened to the Social Security Trust Fund in 2008 when the banks and Wall Street foundered. The Great Recession robbed many of their life savings; Social Security must not be subject to the vagaries of the market.
Nor is privatization, “vouchers,” the answer for Medicare. The amount of research necessary for each person to select the most appropriate insurance would require knowledgeable support staff in every town in the U.S. and at what cost?
There is no evidence that medical costs would be contained, whereas currently, rightly or wrongly, it is necessary for medical providers to absorb part of the costs of care because neither Medicare nor private insurance will pay the full charges, while the patient pays either a flat co-payment or a percentage of the charges.
Medicare is not being robbed to pay for ObamaCare. As the new health care system unfolds, shifts in the delivery of services will be made, with their funding attached. Potential cost reduction is related to identified waste and overpayment. Who could object to savings?
So what solutions can be instituted that will address the projected shortage? First, the wage level cap can be raised. It is difficult to justify a wage level contribution cap, and certainly not at its current level of $110,000. Raising the wage pay-in level would produce enough money to resolve the funding shortage into, according to credible estimates, 2075.
In 1983 Congress raised the eligible retirement age. As the population’s longevity has increased, and a more active lifestyle has become current, the eligible minimum retirement age could be raised. This, too, would result in significant additional funds for the Trust Fund.
Solutions can be reached without destructive disturbances to society. Let us be sure that the soundness of Social Security as we know it is preserved for current users, and for future generations to come. It is at the heart of this country.
Eddie Hertzberg
Grand Portage
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