The President and Representatives Archer and Shaw are to be commended for proposing a framework for addressing Social Security's long-term financial needs. They have been criticized for using general revenue rather than proposing specific benefit cuts and/or revenue increases. Their proposal reflects the current environment. Nearly every public opinion poll shows that most people are unaware of the array of solvency options and are not close to consensus on their preferred choices.
Committing general revenue to Social Security assumes that current surplus projections materialize and that future Congresses would agree to allocate the necessary resources to honor these commitments. People still have an opportunity to share their views on allocating the "surplus" with their elected officials. Poverty and the uninsured are important national problems that should be addressed independent of the current discussion about using the surplus.
