[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 25, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3508-H3509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman Michigan (Mr. Smith) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about an 
important issue for everyone in this country. It is social security. 
Everybody that is now receiving social security is concerned when 
Congress starts talking about changes in social security, because the 
fact is that one-third of the individuals that are now receiving social 
security depend on that social security check for 90 percent or more of 
their retirement income, a huge dependency. So it is easy to understand 
why seniors get nervous.
  Everybody that is near retirement age is concerned, because they have 
planned their retirement and the fact is that social security is 
running out of money. Those individuals under 55 years of age are the 
generation most at risk, because they may be asked to spend a lot more 
paying for the retirement benefits of those that retired before them.
  This week we are going to discuss what has been called a lockbox for 
social security. It does not fix social security, but it provides that 
Congress promises not to spend the social security trust fund surpluses 
for other government programs. It is a good start, but make no mistake, 
it does nothing to change the fundamentals of the programs and fix 
social security in the long run.
  Briefly, let me describe, what the problems of social security are. 
When we started the social security program in 1934, it was developed 
as a pay-as-you-go program, where existing current workers paid in 
their social security tax for the benefits of existing current 
retirees, so essentially no savings. The social security taxes went in 
one week, and by the end of the week they were sent out in benefits to 
retirees.
  The system worked very well in the early stages because there were 42 
people working for every 1 retiree receiving those tax benefits. By 
1950, the number of people working went down to 17 people working, 
sending in their social security taxes for every one retiree. Today it 
is 3 people working, sending in their social security taxes, for every 
retiree.
  The estimate is that by 2030, there are only going to be 2 people 
working. So what we are asking those 2 people to do, without changes in 
the social security structure, without changes in the system, we are 
asking those two workers to try to earn and produce enough for their 
families plus one retiree; almost impossible.
  The Federal Government, since it continues to raise taxes, and it has 
raised social security taxes 36 times since 1976, more often than once 
a year. Today 75 percent of our workers pay more in the social security 
tax than they do in income tax.
  But as government raised those taxes on workers, they took the extra 
money coming in above and beyond what was needed for benefit payments 
for retirees and the families and the disabled and they spent the money 
on other government programs.

                              {time}  0915

  What that has done is dig us a $700 billion IOU to future retirees 
that government, that Congress, that the President has no idea how to 
pay back.
  I plead with my colleagues and, Madam Speaker, I plead with the 
American people to look at Social Security, look at how it is going to 
affect their lives and the future if Congress and the President is not 
willing to step up to the plate and deal with the serious problems of 
Social Security.
  I have a proposal that I will be introducing in the next week that, 
provided we start slowing down some of the benefits for those high-
income retirees and use some of that money for private investment 
accounts, to put that money into individual accounts so those 
individuals own that money, instead of Congress spending it on other 
programs.
  Let me just finish by saying what tremendously complicates and should 
concern all of us in terms of how we deal with Social Security is a 
Supreme Court decision. In fact, two Supreme Court decisions. The 
Supreme Court

[[Page H3509]]

has said there is no entitlement for Social Security benefits; that 
there is no relationship between the taxes we pay in and our right to 
receive any Social Security check when we retire. That means that the 
young generations, those under 55 years old, are completely dependent 
on future politicians deciding how much they might cut their benefits.
  And just one last word, Madam Speaker. The longer we put this off, 
the more drastic the solution. Let us do it, let us get at it, and let 
us deal with it.

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