Kerrey: Both Parties Failing on Social Security Reform

October 8, 1999

An article in the October 6 edition of the Lincoln Journal Star quotes Nebraska Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey admonishing both political parties for the lack of progress on Social Security reform.

"I could not be more upset with the unwillingness of Republicans and Democrats," Kerrey told reporters. "I don't think there are 30 people out of 536 elected officials in Washington - the president and 535 members of Congress - who have put their name on any kind of legislation to save Social Security."

"Republicans pretend that [the lockbox] saves Social Security," Kerrey said. "It doesn't. It doesn't do anything to fix Social Security."

But not all politicians are fiddling while Social Security heads toward insolvency. In conjunction with Democratic Senators John Breaux (Louisiana) and Charles Robb (Virginia) and Republican Senators Judd Gregg (New Hampshire), Charles Grassley (Iowa), Craig Thomas (Wyoming) and Fred Thompson (Tennessee), Kerrey has proposed cutting the payroll tax 2 percentage points to create personal savings accounts allowing workers to invest for their retirements.

Politicians have too long placed their own self-interest over that of American families, 80 percent of which pay more in payroll taxes than income taxes.

But Kerrey insists that electoral politics should not stand in the way of reform. "Every year is an election year," Kerrey said. "It's an odd-numbered year, and we couldn't do it now. We can't do it in 2000. And when we get to 2001, we've got the 2002 elections coming up. The time is now. Every time you delay, the choice is harder, the more suffering that occurs for taxpayers and beneficiaries."

2001 Index | 2000 Index | 1999 Index | 1998 Index