Bob SparksFor Baby Boomers, we are now seeing a clearer picture of the America we will leave behind in the not-too-distant future.
It is a country of unimagined technical advances that provided most, but not all, of us with opportunities to advance as far as our capabilities and work ethic would lead. Scientific breakthroughs have eliminated some diseases and allowed us to live longer.
At the height of the Great Depression, people were merely looking to survive, especially the elderly. As a result, the federal government created the Social Security system in 1935.
It was a popular, bipartisan concept. Democrats aligned with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to enact Social Security, while 84 percent of House Republicans and 76 percent of Senate Republicans also voted for the program.
Social Security, like all of America’s entitlement programs, is in trouble and needs fixing. But it will take leadership. And the leadership can come only from the Democratic Party.
Here is the scope of the problem. In 1950, the ratio of workers paying in to support beneficiaries was 16 to 1; today it is three workers to one and by 2025, it will be 2.3 to 1. According to the Social Security Administration, the system spent $55 billion more than it took in last year and that number is growing. That is unsustainable. It will go broke not that far down the road.
In 1935, the average life expectancy was 64 years, so early eligible recipients did not even live long enough to collect a dime. Today, men are projected to live 76 years and women over 80. And the average will keep rising.
So why can only Democrats get this done? Because they are the only ones most Americans trust. They have relentlessly, and successfully, attacked Republicans for any proposal to reform entitlements to the point where Democrats are the most trusted on this issue.
Entitlement issues have been the gift that keeps on giving for Democratic consultants and candidates for years.
We’ve faced this financial problem before. Thirty years ago, President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker “Tip” O’Neill pushed through many of the bipartisan recommendations of the (Alan) Greenspan Commission. Among the many 1983 recommendations was a hike in payroll taxes, normally anathema to Republicans, and raising the retirement age.
Every Baby Boomer and many current recipients saw their eligibility age go up, but somehow the sky didn’t fall. Reagan and O’Neill led their parties.
In contrast, President-elect Obama said in 2009 that he “will protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries alike,” and that it is not necessary “or fair to hard-working seniors to raise the retirement age.”
As they well know, no one has advocated raising the retirement age on current seniors. An honest discussion will lead to protecting current seniors while ensuring there is a Social Security program in future years.
Social Security reform is not easy. But it will be easier to tackle it sooner than later.
It also will be easier than reforming Medicare and Medicaid. That must be discussed separately within the context of the Affordable Care Act.
These programs, plus the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), account for 45 percent of the federal budget.
The bottom line is we will not get a handle on our federal debt until we first come to grips with caring for our future seniors. The status quo threatens our economic future as well as tomorrow’s retirees.
When Democrats led in 1935, the Republicans came along. With the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Democrat majorities in Congress led and were joined by half of the Republicans. In 1983, House Democrats joined Reagan and Senate Republicans to lead on Social Security reform.
If Democrats take the lead on entitlement reform and have an honest discussion, they will do so with the trust of a majority of Americans. Republicans will join them.
However, if they would rather continue to use the issue as a campaign hammer, they will probably win a few more elections. Meanwhile, the problem will only get worse.
Tick, tock.
