The Day - It's Paramount that our Nation Keep its Promises to the People

Op-Ed

Under the guise of deficit reduction, some in Congress are using scare tactics to mislead the American public into making sweeping cuts to Social Security. I strongly oppose such cuts, which would break critical moral commitments we have made as a nation, because they are unnecessary and unwise, and, ultimately, unconscionable.

Despite the claims of skeptics and cynics, Social Security is in fact a great American success story. Before Social Security, more than half of all seniors lived in poverty. Today, that number is less than 10 percent, still too large but a historic achievement. More than 50 million Americans nationwide rely on Social Security - and more than half a million of them reside in Connecticut.

Raising the eligibility age or imposing a means test would harm middle-class families and contradict the founding principles of Social Security.

People who work behind a desk may be capable of working into their late 60s, but seniors who perform manual labor cannot and should not. A means test undercuts the principle that Social Security is a shared, common social contract.

Some of the other proposed cuts to Social Security would severely reduce staff, delaying distribution of basic retirement claims and disability payments.

Honor the commitment

Cutting Social Security would break a promise and betray a trust to Americans who pay into it. Social Security is not a handout. It is a social contract and commitment to workers who pay in and know what they will get out - no matter what their profession or economic status, and we cannot renege on that promise.

Social Security is not only effective and essential, it is also solvent. In fact, Social Security is fully capable of paying full benefits for the next 26 years. And while I will consider any bill that would improve and strengthen this program for future generations, I will vigorously fight against efforts to break promises we've made to seniors, veterans, disabled Americans and others who rely on this vital program. As an alternative to bolster it, we could raise the cap on taxable income from $106,800 to an amount that would be fairer and yield more revenue.

I have pledged that I will steadfastly oppose Social Security cuts and fight to fulfill our nation's promises to all citizens who pay into it year after year, to ensure we keep faith with them.

Deficit reduction is no justification for cutting Social Security. I strongly believe the nation must cut the deficit - reduce our debt and rein in government spending - but none of these goals should be accomplished on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens, and cuts for that reason would be irresponsible.

Even the presidential commission that recommended Social Security changes acknowledged that it is a stand-alone program and should be addressed separately. Cuts would in no way diminish, let alone solve, our current deficit or budget problems. Considering cuts to Social Security now is simply a dangerous, possibly disastrous, distraction.

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