Younger Voters Can Sway Politicians on Social Security

November 13, 2003

"The wise late prime minister of England, Winston Churchill, once said that if you are a conservative at 20 you have no heart, and if you are a liberal at 40 you have no head," writes Vanessa Pierce, a recent University of Washington graduate. In her article for the Seattle Times, "Don't Vote! (Unless You Care About Your Social Security)," Pierce argues that Social Security reform should be one issue that breaks this ideological pattern and brings younger voters to the ballot boxes.

Pierce asserts: "It's time for young adults in this country to grow up and start using their heads or they can kiss their retirement benefits goodbye.

"Of the 23.9 million 18- to 24-year-olds in the country in 2000, only about 42 percent of those voted, according to CIRCLE, The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement."

More bad news for Social Security, "According to CIRCLE's national survey in 2002, most young adults identify themselves as ideologically liberal versus conservative by a spread of roughly 10 percent."

However, Social Security reform might be the issue to change this pattern because younger workers are in fact the group with the most to gain by individual accounts.

Pierce explains, "The Social Security program is taking advantage of young adults [since] it only has enough revenue to pay 100 percent of promised benefits through [2018], according to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research center.

"Essentially, this means that Gen Y is paying into the system but won't receive its fair share of benefits. And if the program is cut completely, then workers will get NO benefits for the amount they put in.

"Where will Gen Y's entitlement come from? The program is in dire need of help, and Republicans may have the answer—to allow workers the option to invest the Social Security tax (FICA) in stocks or bonds through personal retirement accounts (PRAs). Stocks and bonds will give a higher rate of return for the investment this way.

"The privatization naysayers should think again when they see these numbers. The average 23-year-old female will pay $200,000 into the system over her lifetime and will only get a 1.82 percent return, monthly benefits of $1,640 (equaling about $370,000 by the time she dies). But a PRA would give her 4.89 percent return rate and a reserve of around $620,000 when she retires.

"Young adults need to do something, and the simplest remedy is by going to the polls and marking a box … Imagine what [politicians] will do if young adults really spoke up?"

It's time for today's 20-year-olds to start using their heads. By the time they reach 40, it will be too late.

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