Social Security and MoveOn.org

MoveOn.org is currently soliciting testimonials from individuals who support Social Security as it currently exists. As the organization states:

While the American people are thinking about their lives and their families, the current debate in Congress and in the media is focusing on lots and lots of statistics. The numbers are important but we need to remind everybody what Social Security means for tens of millions of people every day and put a human face on this issue.

You can leave your own thoughts on this important issue here. Below is my response.

Why is Social Security important to you?
I'm sure you'll receive thousands of testimonials from grateful people who directly benefitted from the Social Security system as it currently exists. I'm not one of those people, nor do I expect to be. But that's precisely the point. Though Social Security will probably not have a significant impact on my personal well-being, I know it will do so for millions of Americans in need.

Too much of our political discourse is selfish--rather than say "How does this issue impact America as a whole?", far too many people say "How can this issue benefit me personally? And how can it hurt me?" and reverse-engineer a rationale for justifying the position that's the best for them personally.

I am very comfortable financially--I have a good and stable income, healthy retirement savings and a beautiful house which will be very valuable once the mortgage is paid. Social Security might supplement my retirement savings to a small degree, but I'm not counting on it to be there. If it is there, great, but if not I'm prepared for it.

Given my personal financial condition, I could easily say "I won't be needing Social Security for myself. Let's gut the system right now and give me a break on my taxes." This is exactly what fiscal conservatives believe, no matter how they try to dress it up with various windowdressing rationales.

Social Security is important to me because it directly benefits millions of Americans in the past, present and future who haven't been blessed to the extent that I have. Others need Social Security to help secure their well-being, and for that reason alone I strongly support it.

What would a 20-45% cut in benefits mean to you?
As I said, I'm not directly relying on Social Security, so a benefits cut would not impact me significantly. But I know it will harm millions of others, and for that reason it bothers me greatly.

Why do you oppose the president's effort to privatize Social Security?
If there's indeed a funding problem--and it's far from clear that's actually the case--diverting funds out of the system and into private accounts will only make the problem worse. The massive levels of additional federal borrowing that Bush's plan would require would put at great risk the ultimate repayment of the government bonds which currently constitute the Social Security trust fund. Bush is deviously pushing only the positive aspects of the plan--the possibility of private accounts earning a higher return--while ignoring the negatives: the possibility of private accounts providing lower or even negative returns; the higher administrative costs of private accounts; the massive additional federal debt; and the strong likelihood of future benefit cuts.

The only real beneficiary of Bush's plan is Wall Street, which would suddenly see a massive inflow of new cash pumping through the equity markets. In supporting the investment industry over the lives of millions of everyday Americans, Bush is once again showing where his loyalties lie.