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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