Retirement Security Alliance
1150 17th Street, N.W., Suite 601
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: 202/861-8841
Fax: 202/861-8842
White House Conference on Social Security -- December 8, 1998
Retirement Security Alliance Organizational Statement on Social
Security Reform
Over the past year, President Bill Clinton has led the nation in
a debate on the future of Social Security. Prior to the 1998 State
of the Union, dozens of organizations and a handful of Members of
Congress were working to publicize the need to reform Social Security
sooner rather than later. However, over the past year, and largely
because of the President's call to find a solution to Social
Security's long term solvency challenges, scores of additional
organizations and companies have become involved in this debate.
Throughout Washington and across the country, Social Security is
a topic of conversation at political events and in corporate board
rooms. On Capitol Hill, several pieces of legislation to reform
Social Security have been proposed and several more are currently
being drafted. However, finding a solution that can get the
sufficient bipartisan support necessary to be implemented into law
will require more interest from Members of Congress and the
involvement of hundreds of more companies and organizations.
In an effort to help the Social Security debate move more rapidly
toward reform, The Retirement Security Alliance has worked to build
a coalition of organizations who are committed to the following
principles:
- Concern about the looming crisis in retirement financing,
particularly in Social Security, and the low national savings rate.
- Debate should extend beyond the traditional approaches of raising
taxes and cutting benefits, including options that give Americans
more choice and control over their Social Security contributions.
- Extensive public education on the issue of Social Security reform.
Certainly this education must continue throughout the legislative
process.
- Increased public activism in support of timely Social Security
reform, with a target of reform legislation being adopted in 1999.
- A secure retirement for current and future retirees.
While everyone must work to engage more Members of Congress,
organizations, and companies with the Social Security debate, we
are at a unique moment where those involved and those contemplating
involvement need to see a higher degree of bipartisanship than
currently exists. Both parties need to adapt their efforts to secure
the goal of increased bipartisanship. Increased bipartisanship is
especially critical if more companies are to become involved with
the debate. Corporate America will be more comfortable discussing
the future of Social Security if they witness less political
partisanship and less demagoguery that includes inaccurate and
inflated statements from both sides of the debate.
With a few exceptions on both sides of the political aisle, there
is no question that an environment of bipartisanship does not
currently exist.
Another goal of the Retirement Security Alliance and its scores of
members and friends is to begin a dialogue on the costs associated
with both preservation of the status quo as well as all reform
options being seriously considered. Without question, the White
House Conference on Social Security and the subsequent legislative
process in 1999 can be the catalyst for this discussion.
In poll after poll, there is apprehension about any form of payroll
tax increase, concern about increasing our nation's debt, and most
proposed benefit reductions. Public education has to be enhanced
so that people understand that doing nothing is not an option and
that whatever path Social Security takes in the future will mandate
a price to be paid at some level. Until the public understands this
reality, decision makers in Washington are going to be tepid in
their involvement of the discussion of costs for the future of
Social Security.
To realize the above goals, perhaps decision makers in Congress
should ask themselves the following questions, and make their
thoughts known to the public.
- Does the President think that reform is possible without stating
his position on issues such as raising the retirement age, personal
accounts, how to pay for current social security liabilities and
other questions he has asked others, during the past year of
dialogue?
- Do both political parties truly believe that their current actions
are maximizing the level of bipartisanship necessary to solve the
long term solvency challenges facing Social Security?
- If members of both parties could pick just one legislative
initiative, which would it be: Tax cuts or Social Security reform?
- If we don't get Social Security reform in 1999, what is the next
window of opportunity considering election year politics and the
inevitability of a first-term president in 2001?
There are many other questions that need to be addressed. But the
White House Conference seems to be the best venue to begin getting
some answers.
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