Americans support “painful” measures to fix Social Security

A majority of Americans support potentially painful proposals toincrease taxes and reduce benefits in order to ensure Social Security’slong-term financial future, according to a poll released Wednesday.  “Ithink the public is ahead of Congress and the Washington debate when itcomes to Social Security,” said John Rother, policy director for AARP,the nation’s largest organization for Americans 50 and older, whichconducted the survey.  Without any changes, the Social Securityprogram is expected to be unable to pay full benefits beginning in2040. During the next 75 years, the program is expected to fall morethan $4 trillion in the red.  Efforts to address SocialSecurity’s long-range financial problems ground to a halt in late 2005after Congress and the public balked at President Bush’s proposal tocreate private investment accounts using Social Security taxes.  WilliamNovelli, AARP’s chief executive officer, said the poll shows thatSocial Security changes need to include both more revenue and changesin benefits. Bush had rejected a tax increase to solve the problem.

Source:  Wilmington (NC) Star, http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070222/NEWS/702220365/1002

Ed:  What would it take?  Check out Prof. Jon Forman’s powerpoints.   So,  OK Dems:  do you have the .. hmm…guts?  Now is your chance.  Do something.  And while you’re at it, how about a fix for Medicare too?