An increasingly popular theme...

December 19, 1998

An increasingly popular theme among die-hard defenders of the current Social Security system is that it doesn't really face a funding crisis after all. Projections of economic growth used by the Social Security Advisory Commission are too low, they contend, and if it's just a bit higher, things will be fine. It's the position taken by Business Week a few weeks ago, for example. In a forthcoming op-ed piece, Cato Institute Chairman William Niskanen, a former member of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, begs to differ. Here's a short excerpt:

"There is no way to insulate Social Security from the huge looming change in demographic conditions without major changes in the benefit structure. Increased economic growth is possible and desirable but would not be enough."

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