Briefing Book
White House Conference


The U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce

CALL TO ACTION
CALL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RESPONSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE FUTURE ECONOMIC SOLVENCY OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM

Adopted March 16, 1996
Revised June 25, 1997
Expires March 16, 1999

WHEREAS, real wages for middle and low income Americans have been declining since the mid-1980s causing diminishing economic opportunities; and

WHEREAS, middle and low income Americans fear that they face declining economic opportunities; and

WHEREAS, up to 75 percent of all Americans have little or no opportunity to become savers or capital owners or to share in equal economic opportunity; and

WHEREAS, the demographics of America are changing - we are aging as a society; and

WHEREAS, as the Baby Boomers retire, the number of retirees will almost double by the year 2030, rising from over 40 million to over 80 million retirees; and

WHEREAS, the nonpartisan 1994-95 Entitlements Commission, co-chaired by Senator Robert Kerrey (D-Nebraska) and Senator John Danforth (R-Missouri), found that by the year 2030 more than all existing federal revenues, 19 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), would be consumed by the Social Security and Medicare programs causing federal taxes to double to 38 percent of GDP to pay interest on the national debt and to maintain regular budgetary needs, i.e. education, environment, defense, and job training, all before paying state and local taxes of 10 to 15 percent; and

WHEREAS, in 1945, there were 20 workers supporting one retiree, in 2030, there will be less than two workers asked to support one Social Security and Medicare recipient, and these workers will be asked to accept a 60 percent lifetime tax rate; and

WHEREAS, most Americans are concerned about their economic future, distrust large government bureaucracies, and are eager to regain a sense of being in charge, of having control in their lives; and

WHEREAS, most Americans feel that the current generation will pass a lower standard of living and less economic opportunity to their children and grandchildren, and

WHEREAS, many young Americans feel they are more likely to see a UFO than their Social Security benefits; and

WHEREAS, Social Security was established to provide for our nation’s elderly, and, to that end, is one of the most effective social institutions ever created in America; and

WHEREAS, we need to meet our Social Security promises to existing retirees and future retirees;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce Executive Board of Directors:

  • Recognizes that Social Security is in need of immediate revision;

  • Recognizes that the future of Social Security is a concern for young people and future generations in the United States;

  • Recognizes the need for capitalization of the social security system, thereof private funding;

  • Recognizes that poor people and the indigent are especially hurt by the current system in place;

  • Gives authority to the USJCC staff to pursue a Social Security project in local Junior Chamber communities.

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