Know the Numbers

The Social Security WMD Story

First, know the numbers. The CBO report is readily available.

Second, listen carefully for the tricks. Even those who knew nothing about the Middle East could recognize that President Bush had no real evidence for his claims about Saddam's WMDs, because he was pushing stories that were obviously bogus. For example, he had British prime minister Tony Blair present a compilation of intelligence reports that was largely based on a grad student's research paper. People with real evidence don't put forward such nonsense.

One can find similar cues in the Social Security debate. All budget experts know that Medicare is projected to pose a huge problem because health care costs in the United States are projected to rise out of control. Those planning the attack on Social Security routinely talk about the costs of "Social Security and Medicare" and report huge numbers. Of course, the cost of mowing the White House lawn and Medicare will also be enormous. The problem is not the cost of Social Security or the cost of mowing the White House lawn. The problem is the cost of health care in the United States: let's fix it.

The other standard trick is to question the integrity of the Social Security trust fund, which is now approaching $2 trillion, more than $13,000 for every worker in the country. The trust fund is routinely derided as an accounting entry. Of course it is an accounting entry. Almost all claims to wealth in a modern economy are accounting entries - few people carry around gold these days. The Social Security trust fund is a legal obligation to our country's workers that is supposed to be paid out of the government's general budget. This money, in turn, comes primarily from progressive personal and corporate income taxes, which are paid primarily by the wealthy people who pay for political campaigns. In other words, the trust fund is an obligation to tax rich people to pay for workers' retirement benefits. Now you understand why so many people say it doesn't exist.

Social Security is a hugely successful and popular program. The people can save it if they refuse to buy another WMD story.