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Clyburn: Bush's Social Security proposal would hike U.S. debt

Congressman James E. Clyburn met with Bamberg residents at the county courthouse Monday afternoon to discuss President Bush's proposal to reform Social Security.

Clyburn also conducted town meetings in Sumter and Florence and will be meeting in Walterboro on March 23 and in Columbia on March 24.

"We understand there are a lot of emotions" on the issue of Social Security reform, he said.

Bush says funds in the Social Security system will be exhausted by the year 2042, and he hopes to let younger workers divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into private retirement accounts that supporters hope would be more profitable than traditional government bonds because they could be invested in the stock market.

Many Democrats like Clyburn, however, oppose Bush's plan because it undercuts the nature of Social Security as an insurance program that guards against poverty in old age.

"I am opposed to this," Clyburn said of Bush's plan.

He said that Bush's proposal would increase the U.S. debt and that the money would have to be borrowed from countries like Japan and China to whom the United States already owes money. Under Bush's proposal, instead of tying benefits to wages, benefits will be tied to the stock market, which could rise or fall, making it a risk for citizens, Clyburn said. This would leave the younger generation in the position of having to pay off the country's debt, the congressman said.

Clyburn said that if President Bush's proposal goes into effect, investors will collect 43 percent. These fees are paid to investors whether or not investments are good or bad, he said, adding, "There is no guarantee."

He noted that one of Bush's arguments in favor of the proposal was that the reformed Social Security system would be more beneficial for the African-American population than the current Social Security plan. Clyburn said he disagreed with that, pointing out that African-Americans make up 13 percent of the nation, yet 19 percent receive Social Security while 23 percent receive survivor benefits. Also, since Social Security benefits are weighed to the lower income recipients, the lower the income, the higher the benefits, he said. This also can be an advantage to many African Americans that have a lower income, Clyburn said.

Social Security was never intended to be a retirement plan, Clyburn said, but rather it was intended to provide aid for the disabled, their dependents and certain survivors.

Democrat Joe Erwin, president of the advertising firm Erwin-Penland, also spoke at Monday's town meeting. He shared his own personal experience with Social Security, noting that he and his family benefited from Social Security when his father died of cancer at the age of 39.

Erwin described Social Security as a "safety net" for vulnerable people.

Those wishing more information or to make comments can call Clyburn's office at 1-888-JIM (546)-0006.