Deficit Commission Co-Chair Erskine Bowles Falsely Claims Social Security ‘Runs Out Of Money In 2037′
Last week, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, the co-chairs of President Obama’s deficit reduction commission, released a report outlining their recommendations for reducing the federal budget deficit. One of their most contentious proposals is to gradually raise the retirement age to 69, a move the co-chairs claim is meant to maintain the system’s solvency.
This morning, Simpson and Bowles appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss their proposals. At one point, Simpson explained his view that balancing the budget would require going “to where the meat is. And the meat is health care, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security.” Host Joe Scarborough then complained that while AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka attacked the proposals for cutting Social Security, Scarborough said he doesn’t think the co-chairs went far enough (co-host Mika Brzezinski agreed). Bowles then defended their proposal, saying, “What we’ve done is make Social Security solvent for the next 75 years. As you all know, Social Security runs out of money in 2037. We’re not making it up. That’s the law”:
SIMPSON: You’ve gotta go where the meat is. And the meat is health care, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. Not balancing the books on the backs of poor old staggering seniors to make the damn thing solvent for 75 years.
SCARBOROUGH: We were stunned, Erskine, by some of the things that were said after the commission report came out, saying, “Seniors are going to be thrown out on the street!” I looked at the numbers to be really honest with you, and I didn’t think you moved fast enough on Social Security and Medicare. We calculated that I guess, it was Trumka, who I like very much, Trumka said that this throws old people out. My two year old son Jack will get Social Security at 69. People in their 20′s and 30′s will be just fine.
BRZEZINSKI: In fact, I think you could’ve gone further.
SIMPSON: I know Rich very well. He’s a good egg. He has to say for what he has to say for his membership. But he knows I’m right.
BOWLES: What we’ve done is make Social Security solvent for the next 75 years. As you all know, Social Security runs out of money in 2037. We’re not making it up. That’s the law.
Watch it:
Social Security is currently projected to be fully solvent until the year 2037. After that, it is expected to be able to pay out 75 percent of benefits until 2084, which basically equals full benefits, once inflation is accounted for. There is no threat of the program running out of money any time soon — certainly not in 2037. That does not mean that there aren’t positive and progressive changes that could possibly be made to the system.
However, the hike in retirement age that the MSNBC co-hosts and deficit commission co-chairmen are praising would be a very punitive way to ensure further solvency. As a Government Accountability Office report recently obtained by the AP found, “Raising the retirement age for Social Security would disproportionately hurt low-income workers and minorities, and increase disability claims by older people unable to work.”
Scaborough may not be entirely wrong to shrug off the possibility of his son Jack retiring at 69, if his son ends up being in the same socioeconomic class as him. Almost all of the gains in life expectancy over the past few decades have been among upper income earners. If current trends continue, middle and lower class Americans will see very little gain in life expectancy by the time the co-chairs plan to hike the retirement age. And “nearly half of workers over the age of 58 work at jobs that are either physically demanding or involve difficult work conditions,” meaning that if those trends continue, blue-collar workers will be hurt particularly hard by raising the retirement age.
Unfortunately, most Americans are not highly-paid TV hosts like Brzezinski and Scarborough.
Earlier today the students of Citrus College in Glendora, California published an open letter ("Governor Elect Jerry Brown: We need your help") concerning the institution's financial health. And if the letter's economic illiteracy and intellectual bankruptcy are indicative of California in general, I recommend flushing twice and starting over.
Dear Gov.-Elect Jerry Brown,
...as the generation who is currently feeling the brunt of the state's financial hardships, we are asking for your help because we do care and changes need to be made.
-- Education is our priority. Please invest in it.
...College enrollment has gone down inpart because students cannot afford tuition costs, putting more weight on our already-impacted local community colleges.
The UC and Cal State systems have continuously imposed tuition increases while still making class cute , in reality, making students pay more for less... We as students are not only handling with the pressures of succeeding in our studies, but also dealing with the stress of getting, seemingly unattainable, classes and trying to afford tuition...
Could someone interpret those last few sentences for me?
In order to pay for the ever-rising tuition, we also need to find work.
We need you to create jobs and offer tax incentives to keep jobs in California.
In short: we, the students of Citrus College, demand that you raise taxes to help increase the quality of education while simultaneously lowering taxes to keep jobs in California so we can find jobs.
According to the Los Angeles Times, California is ranked as having the third highest unemployment rate...
Next cuts and tax increases must be made in appropriate areas to bring back balance to this state's finances.
I'm sooo confused, students! Tax incentives, mentioned in the prior paragraph, are the opposite of tax increases.
One thing is certain, California needs to keep a closer eye on who is receiving public services like welfare and WIC...
The government should be run just like any other business and reduce the wasteful spending that they so often spend on overtime and unrealistic government pensions.
There should also be an increase in taxes... Alcohol and cigarettes should be more heavily taxed as well as the uncommonly thought of, junk food... For example, reconsider the soda tax.
Say, I wonder if heavy taxation of "junk food", "soda" and sundry other taxes will hurt entry-level jobs like those in grocery and convenience stores, mom-and-pop retailers and the like?
This is your second time as California's governor and our votes have shown we trust in your experience.
Please, do not let us down.
Sincerely, the students of the Citrus College Clarion.
Jerry Brown's first two terms as governor led to many of the problems you're facing now, kids. In fact, during the campaign, he was forced to admit to a series of screwups and Statist social engineering policies that helped bankrupt the state.
What color is the sky on your planet, Citrus College students?
Sorry, children, but you're about to find out for yourselves just how screwed up the the modern Democrat Party is. There are no unicorns, there are no free lunches, and your new governor is just like the old Jerry Brown: dumber than ever and owned lock, stock and barrel by the public sector unions.
Welcome to the Tea Party.
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