In 1982 Social Security was in crisis. The system had been paying out more than it was taking in and was projected to be unable to meet all of its obligations by the following year. A bipartisan commission headed by Alan Greenspan proposed, and Congress passed, a set of reform measures that put the system back on a secure basis for the long term. That was a real crisis and a real response designed to save the system for future generations.
By the early 1990s Republican leaders were again declaring that Social Security was in crisis.
This time the system was projected to come up short, not next year or the one after, but 35 years in the future. The proposed solution was privatization, with personal accounts invested in the stock market. With a program that was then less than 60 years old, it was difficult to paint a 35 year projection as a crisis, but the campaign was launched.
A decade later the campaign is still underway, the crisis point is still 35 years in the future (or maybe 45 years depending on who does the calculation), and the solution is still privatization. Notice that the crisis keeps moving away, at least as fast as we approach it. But if you do believe there is a problem, it should be clear that the solution must consist of either adding more money to the system or reducing what you take out. The Republican solution does just the opposite. It takes money out of the system so that it will run out sooner. So, if the crisis is doubtful and the solution is counterproductive, why is privatization being pushed so hard?
The answer is that Social Security is an ideological problem for the Republicans, not a financial one. Social Security conflicts with Republican ideology in two fundamental ways. First of all, it's the outstanding example of a big government program that works. It has dramatically cut the poverty rate among the elderly and improved the lives of millions of Americans, and we know it. Almost all of us have seen what Social Security has meant to ourselves, our parents, or our grandparents. Those of us still working understand the freedom we gain because Social Security carries much of the financial burden of supporting our elders. Their independence allows us much greater freedom in our own lives.
Social Security is also a highly successful example of people pooling their resources to collectively meet a shared need. We all pay into Social Security. We are all able to collect when we need to and for as long as we need to. We all gain security by relying on each other.
Republican ideology insists that government can't do anything right and that all problems are best solved privately and individually. Social Security stands as a constant reminder to millions of Americans that this is wrong. They want to privatize Social Security, not because it is failing, but because it is succeeding. It is more important to the Republicans to have a "Politically Correct" system than one that actually offers security to the elderly in a reliable and efficient way.
Published in the Ithaca Journal today.