The plans currently under consideration, the President's Plan and the Archer/Shaw Plan, both consistently follow the pay-as-you go unfunded liability premise that Social Security currently follows: today's politicians promise/pay benefits that will accumulate furthur liabilities for future generations to pay.
If this is the kind of solution we seek, then, these plans will get us there; with this kind of "reform" future generations will enjoy higher income taxes to cover the self-serving solutions and frivolous spending of today's politicians, higher payroll taxes to close the benefit gap caused by our demographic destiny, and a wider gap between rich and poor because the poorest citizens will not be able to save/invest due to the high rate of payroll tax they will have to pay with the pretext they will be protected during retirement. Only the rich and the middle class will have excess income that will enable them to prosper through saving and investing.
On the other hand, if these effects are not desired, real reform needs to take place. That reform, requires us to rethink our public pension system, and the implementation of a system that will accumulate and generate wealth for all workers, provide for freedom and security away from government dependence during retirement, and prevent the furthur accumulation of liabilities for our children, who do not have a voice on this matter today. It is our responsibility as parents to provide for a bright and secure future for our children, by continuing on the current path we will do nothing but cause their demise due to the crushing burden of heavy debt and the high taxation that follows, not to mention the other economic side effects of that mix (i.e. high interest rates, high unemployment, to name a few).
I believe that the Archer/Shaw plan, if used as a pilot project to the implementation of a fully funded private retirement system, could be a good first step towards removing the burdens I described above; otherwise, our time is wasted and the future of our children under the fist of high bebt, taxation, and harsh economic conditions will be bleak.
