THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411050019
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
The Democratic National Committee, whose candidate, Virginia Sen. Charles Robb once said he would take food from the mouths of widows and orphans to eliminate the federal deficit, is running ads attacking Republican Senate candidate Oliver North for supposedly wanting to cut Social Security. North, to his credit, has not run away from his suggestion that Social Security be made voluntary for younger workers. It's about time somebody recognized the system needs some dramatic change.
North's position, after all, isn't much different from that of Ohio Democratic Sen. John Glenn, who is not known for irresponsible statements. In 1982, Sen. Glenn suggested that a private, voluntary alternative to Social Security be established for younger workers. Every serious person who has looked at the system knows it must be changed.
Raising Social Security taxes further is simply not an option. According to a study by Bruce Bartlett of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute in Washington, workers and their employers are already paying 7.65 percent of income into Social Security, which makes the effective tax on wages more than 15 percent. As recently as 1970, the combined tax rate was just 9.6 percent on the first $7,800 in wages. Today, all wages up to $60,600 are taxed.
Benefits have climbed rapidly too. Even when inflation is taken into account, some recipients have seen a real increase of nearly 40 percent in their benefits. And the number of retirees is increasing faster than the number of workers supporting them.
Benefits will have to be scaled back, but that can be done in non-Draconian ways such as gradually raising the retirement age. It also must be made easier for younger workers to save for their own retirement. Oliver North is simply making explicit what most Washington policy-makers, including Clinton budget chief Alice Rivlin, already know must happen eventually. It is Chuck Robb and Marshall Coleman, along with the national Democrats and their scare campaign, who are being irresponsible.
KEYWORDS: SOCIAL SECURITY
by CNB