Posted on 02/25/2004 2:40:24 PM PST by Celantro
The Associated Press Updated: 2:06 p.m. ET Feb. 25, 2004
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress on Wednesday to deal with the country’s escalating budget deficit by cutting benefits for future Social Security retirees. Without action, he warned, long-term interest rates would rise, seriously harming the economy.
In testimony before the House Budget Committee, Greenspan said the current deficit situation, with a projected record red ink of $521 billion this year, will worsen dramatically once the baby boom generation starts becoming eligible for Social Security benefits in just four years.
He said the prospect of the retirement of 77 million baby boomers will radically change the mix of people working and paying into the Social Security retirement fund and those drawing benefits from the fund.
“This dramatic demographic change is certain to place enormous demands on our nation’s resources — demands we will almost surely be unable to meet unless action is taken,” Greenspan said. “For a variety of reasons, that action is better taken as soon as possible.”
President Bush said he had not seen Greenspan’s comments, nor spoken to him, and declined to respond directly to a reporter’s question about them.
Bush said that “my position on Social Security benefits is, those benefits should not be changed for people at or near retirement.”
He renewed his call for personal savings accounts for younger workers that he said “would make sure those younger workers receive benefits equal to or greater than that which is expected.” And Bush repeated his promise to cut the deficit in half over five years.
While Greenspan urged urgency, Congress is unlikely to take up the controversial issue of cutting Social Security benefits in an election year.
I'd love to ask Congress who's going to have a job if immigrants keep flooding the country, and if corporations keep sending all the American jobs to third-world countries?
There is going to come a day of reckoning, but none of us will be around to see it. We will have lost our homes and income to the third world, and we'll be living out our last days in debtor's prison.
Um-hmm. That means for those one year older than me, it won't be changed. For my age and younger, it will be "gotcha". That's the way it always works.
WAKE UP SHEEPLE. Voting republican will not help. Every pubbie from Eisenhower to Reagan to the Bushies have loved social security. It will take a minor revolution to dump this horrific ponzi scheme.
I just about gag when Kerry goes to a rust bucket state and tells the poor joes there that he will fix the job situation for them once he gets in office. What a joke.
You're probably not too popular on FR. Take it from one who knows.
that's it....we'll all become Jews or Muslims and then we can claim discrimination status....
Don't look now, but means testing has already happened. It started in 1983. It used to be that SS benefits were not taxable. In 1983 50% of benefits were made taxable, and under the 'toon, this percentage was raised to 85%.
This is a means test. If one has no other income, benefits are not taxed due to how the IRS code works. If one has other income, benefits are taxed.
Here in Kali, my marginal rate is ~40% for both state & federal, so my benefits will be reduced by ~34% when I start to draw SS. That is a means test no matter what they call it.
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