Opponents Pushing Pledge Campaign
August 15, 2002
The Institute for America's Future is asking politicians to sign a pledge that "opposes privatizing Social Security, partially or totally." Specifically the pledge reads:
"This means I will oppose diverting any Social Security revenues to fund private investment accounts or substituting private investment accounts for any portion of Social Security's guaranteed benefits. I will not support any of the White House Commission's privatization plans, which involve diverting trillions of dollars from Social Security to fund private accounts, cutting Social Security's retirement, survivor and disability benefits, and would have the effect of forcing future retirees to work longer than under current law in order to receive full benefits. I will oppose any plan that includes any of these benefit cuts to finance private investment accounts." Unfortunately, while the pledge purports to put politicians on record in favor or "protecting" Social Security, it makes no mention of how this should be accomplished. The alternative to personal accounts is not doing nothing, it is large tax increases and benefit reductions for future workers and retirees. Signers of "the pledge" are implicitly putting themselves on record in favor of policies the public strongly opposes. The IAF also tracks politicians who are in support of personal retirement accounts. Click here to see who is on the list.
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