Students Launch "Don't Get Screwed" Campaign
“Social Security is a dead issue!†said a friend when she heard I work for a student based non-profit organization that advocates for Social Security reform (www.secureourfuture.org). But the problems with the Social Security system are not going away just because Congress is ignoring the issue, and it is our obligation as voters to demand reforms.
Why should we be concerned with Social Security? In a nut shell, we’re getting screwed. On average, today’s 20-year-old workers will pay about $84,000 more in taxes over the course of their life than they will collect in benefits. We are not just getting screwed by the system because it is unfair, but also because it is not built on bedrock American principles of ownership and choice. Unless reform occurs, Congress will likely raise taxes even more to cover the shortfalls.
Social Security is another government entitlement program that is etching itself more and more into our lives, forcing us to be dependent on the government, rather than allow us the opportunity to be self-reliant. This is a scary thought for freedom-lovers, like me.
It is in our best interest, as workers, to ensure the system is reformed. At S4, (www.secureourfuture.org) we advocate for Social Security reform through Personal Retirement Accounts. We want the choice to put some of our SS tax dollars into an account that is OURS. If young workers could invest that $84,000 mentioned above, with the power of compound interest, they could have $1.2 million dollars when they’re ready to retire!
“That’s really cute of you to be working so hard at such a futile cause,†my friend proceeded to say to me. To some, the “third-rail†issue of Social Security reform is an insurmountable battle. But touching on Hayek and “Public Choice†theory, Max Pappas, the policy expert from FreedomWorks, recently described to a room full of interns, “Politicians are corks floating in the sea of public opinion. The way to make a difference is to change the tide of public opinion.†It is up to US to change the tide!
The 2006 elections are coming up, so now is the time politicians are especially paying attention. If Social Security emerges as a voting issue by having citizens demand reform, politicians will respond because it is in their best interest. As Oregonians, we have a unique position in that, even though neither of our Senators are up for re-election, our views carry a lot of weight because Senator Smith and Senator Wyden are BOTH on the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
Social Security reform would not be a "futile cause" if citizens get behind it. So far, with just over a year under our belts, S4 has been successful in getting the word out. We have almost 300 campus chapters nation wide and representation in all 50 states. Here in Oregon, we have students at 18 colleges, and over 160 at Portland State alone. By joining S4 and making our voices heard, we are showing Congress that if they want to protect their own self interest, (i.e.- get re-elected) they need to start acting in OUR self interest and reform Social Security.
It is in our best interest, as workers, to ensure the system is reformed. At S4, (www.secureourfuture.org) we advocate for Social Security reform through Personal Retirement Accounts. We want the choice to put some of our SS tax dollars into an account that is OURS. If young workers could invest that $84,000 mentioned above, with the power of compound interest, they could have $1.2 million dollars when they’re ready to retire!
“That’s really cute of you to be working so hard at such a futile cause,†my friend proceeded to say to me. To some, the “third-rail†issue of Social Security reform is an insurmountable battle. But touching on Hayek and “Public Choice†theory, Max Pappas, the policy expert from FreedomWorks, recently described to a room full of interns, “Politicians are corks floating in the sea of public opinion. The way to make a difference is to change the tide of public opinion.†It is up to US to change the tide!
The 2006 elections are coming up, so now is the time politicians are especially paying attention. If Social Security emerges as a voting issue by having citizens demand reform, politicians will respond because it is in their best interest. As Oregonians, we have a unique position in that, even though neither of our Senators are up for re-election, our views carry a lot of weight because Senator Smith and Senator Wyden are BOTH on the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
Social Security reform would not be a "futile cause" if citizens get behind it. So far, with just over a year under our belts, S4 has been successful in getting the word out. We have almost 300 campus chapters nation wide and representation in all 50 states. Here in Oregon, we have students at 18 colleges, and over 160 at Portland State alone. By joining S4 and making our voices heard, we are showing Congress that if they want to protect their own self interest, (i.e.- get re-elected) they need to start acting in OUR self interest and reform Social Security.
What can readers of this blog do to help?
Good Luck Evan!
Stop by and check it out!
~Jeremy
-OR-
Join us in our "screw" petition drive!
send a screw to Sen. Smith and Sen. Wyden b/c "we're getting screwed" e-mail me: evan@secureourfuture.org if you're interested in learning more...
Wyden and Smith are typical politicians. They enjoy their power. Good public policy is sacrificed for their positions of power.
All Americans should be outraged at their complicity in doing nothing about a program that is actuarially bankrupt and will severely hurt future generations.
#1 Social Security does not exist to help old people. It exists to help politicians get re-elected as it's tough to compete with someone who give away money taken by force from those who earned it.
#2 Social Security exists because, for the most part, people get far more out of the fund than they pay into it. Social security will cease to exist when the "pay in" to "pay out" ratio approaches 1:1. In other words those approaching retirement know what mom and dad and grandpa and grandma got from Social Security. Do you think they're going to accept any less and pay higher taxes on top of that? They're going to demand at least that amount plus cost of living and other increases.
#3 We need to get away from the idea that nothing good will happen for me unless somebody else is forced (taxed) to pay for it.
Leaders are supposed to lead, not put their finger to the wind and go where the win blows. If Smith does not show some leadership on this critical issue, his legacy as a United States Senator, a decade or two down the road, will be one of abject failure.
Has it come to the point that getting elected is so important that no political risks will ever be taken? If so, Smith and Wyden are no better than the Nero who allegedly fiddled while Rome burned.
What a great post... I have been very discouraged to see that our current Oregon delegation to the U.S. Senate is unwilling to do anything substantive to fix this blatantly broken system...
I have sent Gordon Smith a letter or two in the past imploring him to take the lead on this issue, and have received only "packaged" responses from his office indicating that "he understands" my concern, and will continue to work for reform. However, I suspect that this statement has the best of intentions behind it, and little action. I must admit that I have given up on contacting Sen. Wyden, as I never seem to get anywhere.
As a young person, I don't expect to see one red cent of my Social Security when I retire, and am taking steps to prepare for my own retirement, but I can't say the same thing about the majority of Americans. In our up-and-down economy, where most Americans are living month-to-month on paychecks that already have SSI taken out of them, they assume that it is going to be there for them when they retire. Imagine the outrage if the system truly goes belly-up and these same citizens are faced with the choice of supporting tax increases on their children and grandchildren or see their benefits disappear.
This assumption of benefits has to be shattered if we are going to create the sense of urgency that will finally light a fire under our politicians.
ATTN: YOUNG PEOPLE. THERE IS GOING TO BE NOTHING LEFT WHEN YOU RETIRE!
Your article/post is a good example of how we start the blaze here in Oregon. Thank you for inspiring me to action, and I will be contacting both Senator Smith and Wyden (though I suspect that Ron Wyden will be less responsive) to ask for some promise of action out of them.
Keep the faith, and add me to your list of concerned young people!
Tim Trickey
Great post... I think the last person said it best... We have to light a fire under our politicians, and that requires us to inform our friends and neighbors who are under the age of 30 about what is in store for them.
This post is a great place to start, and the linked resources are very helpful.
Thanks again for drilling it into our heads that the "head-in-the-sand" mentality is not going to fix our Social Security system.
Thanks for bringing this issue to the attention of the Oregon Catalyst audience. It's important for them, and everyone else, to know that there are young people not only worried about the problems with Social Security, but that there are young people working to change the system.
Regarding our political "leaders", I too have had no luck persuading Sen. Smith to weigh in on this issue. Sen. Wyden actually did invite me speak on a panel at one of his town hall meetings last year, but, out of over 150 people attending I was the only one speaking up for personal accounts. You can read the comments I made at www.cascadepolicy.org/pdf/pub/newsletter1_05.pdf