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Immigrants: The key to Social Security
Robert Reich
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TEXT OF COMMENTARY
Bob Moon: Even though most Americans are putting money into the Social Security, those taxes are falling short of what's needed to break even. And that is an issue that concerns commentator Robert Reich.
ROBERT REICH: This is the year Social Security will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes. This tipping point came sooner than anyone expected because the recession has kicked so many people off payrolls. But it was coming anyway. And it adds new urgency to reforming Social Security -- a task the president's commission on the nation's debt is focusing on.
No one should be surprised if the commission suggests raising the retirement age a bit, reducing benefits to retirees with more wealth, maybe increasing the amount of income subject to Social Security taxes.
But another group of policymakers, far removed from Social Security, is now focusing its efforts on an issue that's likely to have a bigger impact on Social Security than any of these changes. And that issue is immigration.
You see, the biggest reason Social Security is in trouble, and Medicare as well, is because America is aging so fast. The baby boom generation is retiring. Seniors are living longer. And families are having fewer children.
Add it all up and the number of people who are working relative to the number who are retired keeps shrinking.
Thirty years ago there were five workers for every retiree. Now there are three. Within a couple of decades, there will be only two workers per retiree. There's no way just two workers will be able or willing to pay enough payroll taxes to keep benefits flowing to every retiree.
This is where immigration comes in. Most immigrants are young because the impoverished countries they come from are demographically the opposite of rich countries. Rather than aging populations, their populations are bursting with young people.
Once the American economy recovers, most new immigrants to the U.S. will be working for many decades.
Get it? One logical way to deal with the crisis of funding Social Security and Medicare is to have more workers per retiree, and the simplest way to do that is to allow more immigrants into the United States.
MOON: Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
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Social Security tax should have no cap. As one's wealth increases, the pay-in becomes incrementally less percentage-wise. Folks earning less than $100K per year pay-in 100% all their life. Talk about who is paying more Social Security taxes? Why all Americans are unwilling to contribute equally to Social Security? What's so wrong in providing social services for those who need it now, and knowing that it will always be there for you when and if you need it?
I am surprised nobody supports implementing a national sales tax to pay for budget deficits caused partially by SS. Eventually, this is what will happen since almost every other solution is harder for politicians to implement. They will just sweet-talk us into it. Give it another 5-10 yrs America, we will be paying VAT type sales tax like the Europeans.
I'm with the other comments on this site equating the way SS is handled to a ponzi scheme. In order to keep the thing going, you need more suckers in the mix, and Robert Reich effectively confirms that when he points to importing immigrants as a solution. The problem with SS is that the accumulated SS taxes of the previous generation are being raided for increased spending. Eventually, someone is going to feel the pain: the question is whether it's going to be the Baby-Boomers, or their grand kids.
To solve the problems relating to entitlements such as Social Security, we need to first correctly identify the problem and second identify the solution. If the problem is really that Social Security is under-funded, immigration is indeed the best temporary solution, though we need a more sensible policy on that front than I think Professor Reich is capable of advocating, but increasing the birth rate is a far better solution in the long run. On the other hand, the real problem is not that the entitlements are running out of money. The entitlements *are* the problem. Social Security is a pyramid scheme, and "entitlements" in general are legalized theft, ways for politicians to buy votes with other people's money. Margaret Thatcher wisely said, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." And, more generally, as Reagan put it, "Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is our problem."
Let's stop putting so much blame on seniors. Social SEcurity had billions in surplus until the Unified Budget Act allowed the the surplus to be raided every time the federal govt needed money for it's deficits for example caused by wars started by the U. S. It has been raided for years since the late 70s and 80s every time the surplus was moved into the general budget. It was a bipartisan bill so let's fess up congress and pay that money back ,with all the interest it could have earned! That's one of the problems that effected The best program working Americans could count on. It is not an entitlement. Hard working Americans earned that benefit. Please print this comment!
Its a sad state of affairs when we have to give our country to mexico because our own corporations want to play a game of short term profits, disappearing returns and losing the people who buy their products in the future. This is the saddest take of all.
This reminds me of the children's story "Spider that ate the fly ....".
The point is very simply, "WE HAVE NO JOBS !!!!" There are millions of Americas that are working far below their potential (if they are working at all); thus, not paying SS taxes (WOW, what a surprise !!!!!!).
My case for instance; I am a 65 year old school janitor working just for the health benefits. I loved my computer software developer career with over 30 years experience. I have not had a "real job" for over 10 years.
Just look around, I see a massive amount of work that needs to be done in all industries - including computer support - BUT no one wants to (or is able to pay) for the work to be done.
My wife thinks it is foolish for me to apply to "real jobs" daily but I never expect to retire if I can find a job I like and that is important to our society.
We need ALL of the jobs we have sent to other countries to come back to America. This may make the cost of goods higher but we all will have "real jobs" with wages and benefits to buy these goods that other Americans are producing.
It may not be "illegal" to ship our jobs to other countries but it certainly is "immoral".
Thank you Robert. I'm surprised that middle age immigration opponents haven't picked up on this yet. Yea it'll get a bit more crowded, but look at the bright side: those that haven't been saving as much for retirement as they should have (95% of Americans) won't have to bag groceries at 70 (and be really slow at it) to pay the bills.
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