From: Richard Arsinow <richard.arsinow@rauland.com>
Subject: RE: The Big Picture
Yes, they are projecting surpluses and magnanimously offering to pledge a certain percentage of the projected surpluses to Social Security. What's wrong with this picture?
The government doesn't have a surplus, and all of the money they want to promise, and more, already belongs to Social Security. Social Security needs to operate at a surplus right now to build up reserves for the retirement of the baby boomers. It seems no one disputes that. The general fund is running a defecit, smaller than in years past, but still a defecit. Yet all we hear from Congress is what to do with the 'unified' budget surplus.
The budget should not be 'unified'! The accounting needs to be separated so that we can take "hands off" Social Security and let it operate at a surplus to build up its reserves, while at the same time persuing the goal of a balanced general fund budget.
I put this to the four Congress members on the Why Reform Now? board on Wednesday April 28th, and asked each to take a position on taking Social Security off-budget. Not a single one replied.
At least three House bills, H.R. 563, H.R. 656 and H.R. 685, propose to do this. This can and should be done now regardless of which Social Security reform measures are later adopted. It will help everyone see more clearly that there should be no argument over how to spend the budget surplus until and unless one actually materializes.
