Editorial: Reform needs healthy dose of common sense

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 10:48 a.m.

WITH good reason, Americans are understandably skittish about the future of Social Security. A genuine fear -- which cuts across every generation -- is that Social Security will one day go bankrupt.

So most Americans welcomed President Clinton's pledge during the State of the Union address Tuesday evening to set aside any money from a a budget surplus to save Social Security. "Let us say to all Americans ... whether you're 70 or 50 or whether you're just starting to pay into the system: Social Security will be there when you need it," Clinton said. "Let us make this commitment: Social Security first."

Social Security is not in danger of going bankrupt tomorrow, but most observers believe that the system, which began in 1935 as a safety net for older Americans, is in desperate need of reform.

As Larry Lipman of Cox News Service reports, Social Security is running large surpluses for the 44 million Americans receiving benefits now. Social Security is expected to stay solvent until at least 2030 and, even then, annual payroll tax collections will cover 75 percent of its expenses.

But some critics, Lipman writes, feel the crisis will hit home much sooner, likely around the year 2012, which is when annual tax collections are anticipated to be lower than expenses. This gap between money going out and coming in will probably widen each year as Baby Boomers start collecting their benefits.

Without a doubt, the nation has a serious problem on its hands.

In addition to setting aside budget surplus funds, the president believes the issue needs to be examined thoroughly and addressed in a rational way. Clinton announced Tuesday there would be a series of forums across the nation to talk about reforming Social Security. The forums will be run jointly by the American Association of Retired Persons and the Concord Coalition, an organization that stresses fiscal restraint. The executive director of the Concord Coalition said the conferences would be a balanced and bipartisan discussion of the problems facing Social Security and what options are available in solving the issue.

Coming to a consensus on how to preserve Social Security won't be easy. Not even a congressionally mandated advisory council on Social Security could agree last year on what steps should be taken. But the nation needs to come to terms on this issue; the president has started us on the right track by initiating a national dialogue.