June 20th, 2008

Watch Senator McCain explain his plans to fix Social Security by allowing young people to put a portion of our taxes into a protected account:

June 19th, 2008

This morning members of S4 met with Christine O’Donnell, a Delaware candidate for United States Senate. When asked about her plans to reform Social Security for future generations she enthusiastically responded, saying Social Security is not a quick fix problem.

O’Donnell believes that many steps must be taken to solve this problem; not just temporary fixes, but long-term solutions that will alleviate the shortfall. She agrees with the option of allowing individuals to have an account with their name on it.

S4 has also talked with her opponent, current Senator Joe Biden, about this issue. We encourage both candidates to complete the S4 candidate survey!

June 13th, 2008

McCain and Obama have begun sparring over Social Security reform, and we'll soon be writing about the differences between their plans.  But there is an important question for Obama, who today offered specifics on his plan to raise Social Security taxes on those making over $250,000.

The question is: Is that $250,000 indexed?

This is the same question we asked Sen. John Edwards when he was advocating the same idea during his campaign.  Edwards didn't have an answer.

The reason the question is important is because the "donut hole" gets smaller and smaller every year if there is no indexing.  For example, the donut hole last year would have been $97,500 - $250,000, whereas this year it would be $102,000 - $250,000.  Given that same rate of increase in the lower threshold, the donut hole disappears in 20 years. 

In other words, if the donut hole is such a good idea, then the $250,000 will have to be indexed.  And if the $250,000 is indexed, Obama's plan will help Social Security even less than has been projected.

June 02nd, 2008

May 27th, 2008

S4's own James D'Angelo makes the news in Illinois. People like this doing great work is one reason S4 is still in the Social Security fight as we approach our three-year anniversary!

May 16th, 2008

From the Washinton Post's Dan Balz:

In addition to major changes in health policy, education policy and energy policy, McCain also envisions fixing Social Security in his first term. There's no doubt that this is one of his goals and his willingness to work across party lines is probably far greater than was Bush's when he undertook his second-term initiative in 2005. But when he says the reforms include "some form of personal retirement accounts," does he mean as part of Social Security -- a non-starter to Democrats -- or separate and apart from Social Security?

I guess we'll have to wait and see.  Remember that McCain supported personal accounts as part of Social Security when he spoke to the Wall Street Journal in March but has since seemed to back away from that position.   

May 15th, 2008

May 07th, 2008

S4's Ryan Lynch had a letter to the editor published by US News & World Report. Below is the letter, which highlights the need to reform Social Security in a way that is fair to people of all income levels:

If "Many Say Social Security is Healthy Enough" [usnews.com] was a joke, today's young people aren't laughing.

As our generation scrambles to pay off student loans and save for that one-quarter of promised Social Security benefits we won't receive, it seems that many are searching for ways to make the program an even worse deal for future retirees. Sure, we could bring Social Security into long-term balance by raising the retirement age yet again, but what about the fact that those who rely most on Social Security also have the shortest life expectancies? We do need to restore fiscal health to Social Security, but we must do so with a sound conscience.

Way to go, Ryan!

Allison Kasic's Townhall article Beyond Obama is an informative look at how "Obamamania" can be harnessed to engage young voters in substantive issues that will have a large impact on their life in the future.

Kasic writes, "It’s crucial that young voters focus on the many pressing issues of concern to them and future generations."

She continues to say "Take Social Security, for example. In 2017 Social Security will start to pay our more money in benefits than it collects in taxes, and by the time, today’s college students retire, the program will be able to pay only 74% of promised benefits. Unless reform happens soon, young voters will face massive tax hikes, massive benefit cuts, or some combination of the two."

Read her entire article here.

April 28th, 2008

Today S4 held a "Take a Slice!" pizza event at Mt. Holyoke College.  Despite the somewhat rainy weather, we were able to spread the word about Social Security, asking students to "take a slice, because the government is taking MORE than slice from your paycheck"

Students responded positively to our free pizza event.  And not just because of the free food...one student said, "I would sign this petition even if there was no pizza involved!!" Booyah!