Washington – The Club for Growth reiterates its commitment to genuine market-based Social Security reform in light of the funding crisis projected by the Social Security Administration’s 2007 Trustee Report.
Released earlier today, the report predicts that Social Security costs will outstrip tax revenue coming into the “trust fund” by 2017. But, of course, the “trust fund” is not a fund in any meaningful sense of the word. Absent reform, by 2017, the government will be facing either a politically untenable benefit cut or, more likely, a huge tax increase.
“Social Security’s funding crisis isn’t going anywhere unless we do something about it,” Club for Growth President Pat Toomey said. “Today’s report only drives home the need for real market-based Social Security reform in the form of personal accounts. Not only will personal accounts go a long way to solving the fund’s insolvency problem, but, more importantly, they will also restore personal freedom and independence to America’s workers.”
“Some politicians refuse to embrace personal accounts because they mistakenly believe that the American people cannot make their own decisions about how to invest and save for retirement. It comes down to a basic lack of faith in the American people and an overabundance of faith in themselves. Throughout our history, Americans have always preferred more choice and freedom over less. Social Security is no different.”