On Feb. 17 The Heights published a column by Bill Schrecker titled "Senior and disability advocate weighs in on Social Security," which was a response to a column I wrote, "Reforming the Third Rail." In it, he argues against President Bush's proposed personal retirement accounts on the basis that Social Security "will not be bankrupt in 2042," that the cost of creating retirement accounts "has been estimated as high as $2 trillion," and that "the cost of maintaining private accounts is 20 times higher than the current cost to administer the privatized program."

There is a legitimate argument against President Bush's proposal; but to oppose it based on unfounded, unreferenced sources, and to suggest that "the situation is not the imminent 'crisis' the president has repeatedly described," is misleading and false.

I would like to address the points that Mr. Schrecker brought up. First, he states that Social Security "will not be bankrupt in 2042." This statement is not backed up by what the facts suggest. The 2004 Annual Report of the Social Security Trustees says otherwise; "When today's young workers begin to retire in 2042, the system will be exhausted and bankrupt."

Mr. Schrecker then argues that the costs of strengthening Social Security to include personal retirement accounts "has been estimated as high as $2 trillion," which "could not be done by a government that currently owes more than $7.6 trillion in debt." I'm not sure where he found that it would cost "$2 trillion"; in the president's report, "Strengthening Social Security for the 21st Century," it states that, "the Office of Management and Budget estimates that the President's personal retirement account proposal will require transition financing of $664 billion over the next ten years ($754 billion including interest)."

The 2004 "Report of the Social Security Trustees" has some more interesting figures to ponder. The report concludes that "as of 2004, the cost of doing nothing to fix our Social Security system had hit an estimated $10.4 trillion ... [and] every year we wait costs an additional $600 billion," and, "today's 30-year-old worker can expect a 27 percent benefit cut from the current system when he or she reaches normal retirement age."

Continued...

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