Right on urgency, wrong on solutions

Tonight on “60 Minutes II” there was a story about the behemoth known as AARP and how it's opposed Social Security reform. As this excerpt shows, they understand the need for action [emphasis added]:

[AARP head Bill] Novelli, and many economists, say Social Security will be solvent for another 35 years. And minor changes today will keep it solvent for decades beyond that.

"In your judgment," Rather asks Novelli, "is Social Security in dire straits, in deep trouble right now?"

"No, no. It's not in crisis. But, it does need to be strengthened … for future generations. And if we take steps now, it'll be a lot less painful than if we wait until later."

Unfortunately, the AARP won’t elucidate what these “changes” or “steps” might be but you can bet they’re not going to support benefit cuts for their 30+ million members. By default, that means more taxes on younger workers who are already surrendering 12.4% of their pay for entitlements.

When Social Security started, the payroll tax was a forgettable 2%. Would Franklin Delano Roosevelt approve of a system where young workers give up 6 times that amount in every paycheck? Where 80% of Americans pay more in payroll taxes than income taxes? Where every American under thirty today would pay into the system only to see it go bankrupt and able to pay only 72% of promised benefits? I think he’d be shocked at the monster he’d created, an anachronism anchored in Depression-era policy.