Subject: Ms.Hartman. Aren't you ignoring unfunded liab?
Because of past decisions by politicians, benefits have already been promised that far exceed projected revenue. Depending upon whether one uses a "closed" or "open" system that unfunded liability is between $3 trillion and $9 trillion. Current pay-as-you-go Social Security is going bankrupt. You and the President with your "add-ons" are proposing to solve one bankrupt system by adding a new entitlement. You are ignoring the unfunded liability issue.
What citizens need to understand is that shifting this unfunded liability away from payroll taxes to the general fund- which is what redeeming the trust fund IOU's will do- DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. The only way the unfunded liability can be solved is by involving economic growth from the private sector. BUT, that growth must belong to the individual citizens through PERSONAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS. Because economic growth is due to the labor of individual workers, they should be the ones to benefit. Unless individuals own their accounts they will have no control over their retirement age. Workers have paid income taxes on the FICA taxes that are withheld- it is their money and they should be permitted to use their own money to accrue retirement wealth for their own families.
When workers own their accounts, the problem of divorce for women can be more easily solved. When the husband has property rights to his account, it can be dealt with as any other asset in a divorce settlement.
Carolyn S. Cox, volunteer in the grassroots movement called Economic Security 2000.
