Social Security: What Do We Need?
NPR.org, April 15, 2005 · Enacted on August 14, 1935, Social Security has served more than 200 million Americans. The idea for the program emerged out of a broad, Depression-era study of the nation's economic security. As we consider overhauling Social Security today, Taking Issue asks: What does American society need from a federal retirement program in the decades to come? What does it need from us today?
Change Is Essential
"If my daughter could invest her Social Security taxes in U.S. government bonds, she would have enough savings to receive twice what she is now promised."
David John is a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Fiscal Honesty Demanded
"Neither private accounts nor the trust fund bonds do anything to ease the fiscal strain Social Security's growth is likely to place on the economy."
Harry Zeeve is the National Field Director for The Concord Coalition, a non-partisan group that advocates fiscal responsibility.
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Need Remains the Same
Robert M. Ball
Robert M. Ball served on the 1983 Greenspan Commission on Social Security Reform.
Involve Young People
Andrea Batista Schlesinger
Andrea Batista Schlesinger is the executive director of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, a non-partisan organization with roots in the civil rights movement.