| T-Paw Hates Social Security, Too |
| Posted by Don Kusler (don) on Jul 15 2011 at 9:48 AM |
They Really Said It
Tim Pawlenty, like his fellow GOP presidential candidates, wants to impoverish the Social Security system while restricting lower-income workers access to whatever’s left. Responding to a WFW activist’s question at a recent campaign stop in Iowa, the former Minnnesota governor called for diverting payroll taxes away from the trust fund that pays Social Security beneficiaries, while at the same time raising the retirement age even more than it’s already scheduled to go up.
What It Really Means
Workers’ payroll contributions to Social Security are what pay current beneficiaries. If some portion of those contributions are drained away in privatization schemes of the type endorsed by Pawlenty, benefit checks will have to be reduced. In a larger sense, privatization weakens the collective power of Social Security, exposing individuals to market fraud and collapse, imperiling their ability to live their lives in comfort, dignity and peace. Raising the retirement age disproportionately penalizes the lower-income, who typically live shorter lives after a lifetime of hard work, and so may never get to retirement or will have fewer years to enjoy it.
What Really Should Be Done
Social Security is the most successful prosperity program in history: it's rescued hundreds of millions of Americans from the want and fear that was once the common experience of aging, widowhood and disability. It's the collective contribution of all working America that spreads the benefits and risks and keeps the system strong. Simple, common sense solutions can ensure Social Security will be there for generations to come, without cutting benefits or endangering the solvency of the system. These include making sure high-salaried workers pay their fair share and diversifying the trust fund’s investments.