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Show THE VOICE OF BUSINESS Will Social Securif be in your tfuf ur$ , By Richard L. Lesher. President Chamber of Commerce of the United States Will the Social Security system still be solvent and able to pay the money you will be due when you retire? This question might have been scoffed at just a decade ago, but now it is being asked in earnest by more and more Americans. They have good reason to be concerned. Social Security is in trouble for three basic reasons. First, the Social Security trust fund is currently being propped up thanks only to a tremendous tax increase. in-crease. Unfortunately, this tax increase in-crease in only one of many the Administration Ad-ministration has imposed as a kind of knee-jerk response to every economic problem from inflation, to energy, to Social Security. But, as the U.S. Chamber has repeatedly warned, people do not work just to pay taxes, but to earn more after-tax income. Not surprisingly then, all this excessive taxation has depressed the economy and made the recession worse. Should the result be a long, drawn-out recession, the Social Security trust fund will be depleated further and faster than expected. Second, we are beginning to experience ex-perience the long-predicted "graying of America" as the over-65 segment of the population grows larger in proportion to other age groups. And within 25 years, the post-World War II baby boom will become the twenty-first century retirement boom. That, combined with our present low population growth, means the ration of Social Security taxpayers to beneficiaries will drop, sharply at the very time larger and larger outlays for the Social Security program will be needed. Finally, although 90 percent of the American work force is covered by Social Security, about nine million workers mostly federal, state and local government employees are exempt from paying Social Security taxes. Nonetheless, about 70 percent of these "uncovered" employees finally qualify for Social Security benefits, as a result of working in -covered employment em-ployment at some time in their career. (Incidentally, in discussing this problem in a recent column. I unintentionally unin-tentionally conveyed the impression that government workers can collect Social Security benefits without ever paying Social Security taxes. This is obviously not possible as I have pointed out in prior columns, so I want to thank those readers who alerted make sure the record is ma Nevertheless, government generally qualify for benefits ' about two thirds of what i have earned if their full ,5' been in covered employm . though they pay less than one ' the amount career-long Cov t' ployees pay in Social Securih" -ni Health and Human Services g .' 5 this windfall amounts toabi'2 million a year. peri It happens because the Security benefits formula f3 workers with low average earnings to receive a higher re their contributions than " with high earnings. This si-intended si-intended to benefit works- )U alifetime of low wages. Unfort-it Unfort-it makes no distinction betw low income poeple and fe ( ployees whose average priv ' earnings are low only beca . have worked so long in g. r employment. ' ! In terms of fairness, there 5 Js no reason why any workings ; should be exempt from supp- -' participating in Social SecuitT this because Social Securfe (ij really an individual re'-program, re'-program, but rather a forma'. in which today's workers are supplement the incomes of fir- :.f have already completed their ; , careers, or w ho are widows, t; "ll disabled. T If mandatory universal ... Security coverage were es:- .. made effective by January. ... Social Security system could rt additional $123 billion in rev; 1987. That would eonsistutea:.; ' the right direction. " It is also estimated that ; billions of dollars could bes-slightly bes-slightly reducing the benefis: beneficiaries. This would otv ; a controversial decision, ho?: I personally believe the has an obligation to bep ; much stronger tax inceKiss . courage Americans to set up 1; their own individual reUrc-: counts. The integrity of the Socii system must be preserved tc P Congress has lacked the kl I take the decisive action we k: public servants cannot see::: light, then the upcoming ftec a perfect opportunity tornske: ( , the heat. |