Great Article on Social security (The Truth)

This article explains the whole story about social security and the baby boomers. It also shows how greenspan is kissing Bush's butt to keep his job. Now greenspan wants to cut benefits, that is ridiculous. The boomers have been paying extra for 20 years to pay for their retirement. They should have put that money in a lock box as Gore suggested. The funny part is all the republicans hate social security yet they have no problem using that money to pay for the tax cuts. The congress should pass a law making social security money untouchable for anything but payouts to retirees.

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The Social Security Promise Not Yet Kept

SOCIAL Security retirement benefits are going to have to be cut, Alan Greenspan announced last
week, because there just is not enough money to pay the promised benefits. President Bush said those
already retired or "near retirement age'' should not worry. They will get their promised benefits.

That, in short form, was the story carried on front pages and television news programs across the country.

But there is an element that was forgotten in the rush of news. It dates back 21 years to the events that
catapulted Mr. Greenspan into national prominence and led to his becoming chairman of the Federal
Reserve.

Since 1983, American workers have been paying more into Social Security than it has paid out in benefits,
about $1.8 trillion more so far. This year Americans will pay about 50 percent more in Social Security
taxes than the government will pay out in benefits.

Those taxes were imposed at the urging of Mr. Greenspan, who was chairman of a bipartisan commission
that in 1983 said that one way to make sure Social Security remains solvent once the baby boomers
reached retirement age was to tax them in advance.

On Mr. Greenspan's recommendation Social Security was converted from a pay-as-you-go system to one
in which taxes are collected in advance. After Congress adopted the plan, Mr. Greenspan rose to become
chairman of the Federal Reserve.

This year someone making $50,000 will pay $6,200 in Social Security taxes, half deducted from their
paycheck and half paid by their employer. That total is about $2,000 more than the government needs in
order to pay benefits to retirees, widows, orphans and the disabled, government budget documents show.

Full Story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/weekinreview/29john.html?pagewanted=print&position=