John Boehner, August 5, 2005

August 14th marks the 70th anniversary of Social Security. Since 1935, Social Security has been a critical source of income for retired and disabled people. But if we expect it to be around for our families 70 years from now, we’re going to need to start making some changes. Let’s have a look at the numbers:

• 2: the number of workers for every retired person receiving benefits in 2030. Today there are 3.3. In 1950 there were 16 workers for every beneficiary.

• 12: the years until Social Security begins paying out more than it takes

• in.12.4: the percent of your paycheck that already goes to Social Security ($1 out of every $8). The original tax was only 2 percent.

• 37: the years until Social Security is flat broke.

• 40: the number of times Social Security taxes have been raised since the program began.

• 80: the percent of Americans who pay more in Social Security taxes than they do in federal income tax.

• 70,000,000: the number of retired Americans in 2030 -- twice as many as today.

• 12,800,000,000,000: the amount of benefits, in dollars, Social Security can’t afford to pay long-term.

The Social Security system exemplifies good intentions gone wrong. The program has kept millions of elderly people out of poverty, but it was set up quickly as a pay-as-you-go system, sacrificing long-term solvency for short-term efficiency. If we do nothing to strengthen it, two things will happen: we’ll condemn ourselves to fiscal ruin, and we’ll jeopardize the retirement security of our children and grandchildren.

Social Security is the largest government-run program in the world; it will only get bigger as more Americans retire and average life expectancy continues to increase. Without any changes, mandatory spending programs like Social Security could ultimately consume 60 percent or more of the federal budget. That will leave less money for schools; less money for roads; less money for veterans; less money for the armed forces, and so on. Strengthening Social Security is necessary to keep it from crowding out our other priorities.

But all some people can say is, "No." They say we shouldn’t worry about Social Security now -- we’re not in a "crisis" yet, they argue. They would be wise to heed the words of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan:

"You either choose to do something in advance, which will ameliorate the problem... or wait until the problem is right on you, in which the solutions are going to be very painful."

If we wait until we’re in "crisis" mode with Social Security, the only solutions will involve crushing taxes or dramatic cuts in benefits for our families. Neither of those is desirable -- especially when we have much better options available to us today. Let me tell you about one of them.

Since Social Security was last "reformed" in 1983, the system has run annual surpluses. In every year but two since then, Congress has spent these surpluses on other government programs. One of the current proposals would put a stop to that. The plan would create "Growing Real Ownership for Workers" (GROW) accounts.

Here’s how it works: the Social Security surplus is projected to be about $790 billion through 2015. This plan would put that surplus into personal GROW accounts for workers. The money would be invested in guaranteed, marketable Treasury bonds that individuals own and control -- individual "lock boxes." Each worker could save a total of roughly $5,000 in their GROW account, on average, between now and 2015.

GROW accounts would be entirely voluntary for workers under 55, and would not affect current retirees or those close to retirement. The accounts would be fully inheritable by workers’ families, and the plan involves no tax increases or benefit cuts.

Does this address Social Security’s solvency problem? Not entirely. But I’ve said from the beginning that all options should be on the table when we’re discussing Social Security. This plan is a good first step. It will reveal the true level of government over-spending (since Congress won’t have the surplus to dip into anymore), and it will provide a down payment towards a more comprehensive Social Security reform bill.

Simply saying "No" to dealing with Social Security is not the answer. We have to keep our eye on the ball and be open to new ideas. Introducing GROW accounts would be a nice way to ring in Social Security’s 70th anniversary, and a good step towards strengthening the program for the future.

Congressman John Boehner, a Republican, represents Ohio's Eighth Congressional District, which includes Miami, Butler, Preble, Darke, and Mercer Counties.