Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Saving Social Security

Letter

Amid warning signs that Social Security faces new threats from some quarters at the White House and on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged President Barack Obama to preserve the "strong and vibrant" system that serves more than 52 million Americans.

In a letter to the president, Sanders referred to what he called "worrisome reports" that Obama is considering cuts in Social Security. "I hope that information is wrong and that you will stand by your campaign promises to strengthen Social Security," the senator said. "I urge you once again to make it clear to the American people that under your watch we will not cut Social Security benefits, raise the retirement age or privatize this critical program."

A White House fiscal commission appointed by Obama recently called for changes in Social Security. A change in how Social Security is funded as part of the tax deal Obama reached in December with congressional Republicans was another warning sign, Sanders said. Another red flag was raised when Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee evaded a direct question about Social Security cuts. "Let's not rule everything out," Goolsbee said during a Jan. 7 interview on CNN. On Capitol Hill, House Speaker John Boehner repeatedly has said he supports raising the Social Security retirement age to 70.

In fact, the Social Security trust fund has a $2.6 trillion surplus projected to increase to more than $4 trillion by 2023, the senator noted in his letter. The 75-year-old system will be able to continue to pay every nickel owed to ever eligible recipient for at least another 26 years. "All of us want to work in a bipartisan manner when we can, but needlessly cutting Social Security benefits when that has nothing to do with our deficit situation is not good public policy," Sanders said.

The senator agreed with statements by Obama in 2007 and 2008, when he called Social Security "a fundamentally sound system" and dismissed as "not good policy options" proposals to cut benefits, raise the retirement age or increase taxes on all workers.

To strengthen Social Security in the future, Sanders supported an idea Obama voiced last fall when he broached the possibility of raising a cap on earnings subject to the payroll taxes. Earnings of more than $106,800 currently are not taxed for Social Security.

"Our Republican colleagues have long opposed Social Security not because it hasn't worked, but because of ideological reasons. Despite its extraordinary success, they simply believe that government should not be involved in providing retirement benefits to seniors, or supporting the disabled or widows or orphans. They would prefer Wall Street and the private sector do that. But that has not been your position," the senator wrote to the president, "and that is not the promise you made to the American people."

As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders has offered an array of proposals to bring down the national debt. He has called for the elimination of tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, favored doing away with wasteful tax incentives for oil companies that are among the most profitable corporations in the world, advocated reforms in wasteful Pentagon procurement programs and urged the Defense Department to phase out expensive but outdated cold war-era defense systems.

Test of the letter below:

January 11, 2011

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

There have been worrisome reports that you are considering supporting cuts in Social Security. I hope that information is wrong, and that you will stand by your campaign promises to strengthen Social Security, making sure that it remains strong and vibrant and able to pay out full benefits for our children and grandchildren.

As you well know, despite rhetoric from Republicans and those on Wall Street, Social Security is not a financial crisis. The Social Security Trust Fund today has a $2.6 trillion surplus that is projected to grow to over $4 trillion by the year 2023. Social Security can pay out every nickel owed to every eligible American for at least the next 26 years. After that, if Congress does not act (which I strongly believe it must), Social Security will be able to pay out at least 75 percent of eligible benefits. Further, Social Security has not contributed anything to our national debt. Social Security is 100 percent funded through the payroll tax contributions coming from workers and employers and, up until last year, it has received no funding from the federal Treasury.

Mr. President, although the American people now take Social Security for granted, we should never underestimate the incredibly positive impact that Social Security has had on our country. Since its inception over 75 years ago, through good economic times and bad, Social Security has paid out every penny owed to every eligible beneficiary with minimal administrative costs. What an extraordinary accomplishment!

During that period Social Security has succeeded in keeping millions of senior citizens, widows, orphans, and persons with disabilities out of poverty. Before Social Security existed, about half of America's senior citizens lived in poverty. Today, less than 10 percent live in poverty. More than 52 million Americans now receive Social Security benefits. I would contrast that record to the situation we recently saw on Wall Street when millions of Americans lost significant amounts of their retirement savings because of the collapse of the stock market.

But, I do not have to tell you all of this, Mr. President, because that is very much the same message you conveyed to the American people during your presidential campaign of 2008. Here are some of the excellent statements you made during the campaign:

* "Social Security is not in crisis; it is a fundamentally sound system, but it does have a problem, long-term ... The best idea is to lift the cap on the payroll tax, potentially exempting middle-class folks, but making sure that the wealthy are paying more of their fair share," Senator Barack Obama, October 30, 2007

* "The alternatives, like raising the retirement age, or cutting benefits, or raising the payroll tax on everybody, including people making less than $97,000 a year [now $106,800 a year] -- those are not good policy options," Senator Barack Obama, April 16, 2008

* "I believe that cutting [Social Security] benefits is not the right answer; and that raising the retirement age is not the best option," Senator Barack Obama, November 11, 2007

And even more recently, as President, you made a very strong statement on this issue, according to an October 14, 2010 Reuters article: "President Barack Obama said ... he favored raising more revenue for Social Security to prolong the solvency of the U.S. retirement fund, rather than just cutting benefits or making people work longer ... 'I do think that the best way to do it would be to look at the fact that right now, you only pay Social Security taxes to about $106,000, and after that you don't pay any Social Security tax,' President Obama said. 'That could be modified or changed in a way that would help extend the solvency of Social Security.'"

Mr. President, as I'm sure you are aware, our Republican colleagues have long opposed Social Security not because it hasn't worked, but because of ideological reasons. Despite its extraordinary success, they simply believe that government should no be involved in providing retirement benefits to seniors, or supporting the disabled, or widows and orphans. They would prefer Wall Street and the private sector do that.

But that has not been your position and that is not the promise you made to the American people. That is not why you were elected President. Further, that is not what the vast majority of the American people want to see happen.

All of us want to work in a bi-partisan manner when we can, but needlessly cutting Social Security benefits when that has nothing to do with our deficit situation, is not good public policy or what is good for our country.

I urge you to once again make it clear to the American people that under your watch we will not cut Social Security benefits, raise the retirement age or privatize this critical program.

Social Security is a promise that we cannot and must not break.

Sincerely,

Bernard Sanders
United States Senator

Source