Friday, February 20, 1998

Social Security cooperation is positive sign

Maybe it's just that the Republicans know a political opportunity when they see one, but the promise of some GOP congressional leaders to go along with President Clinton on Social Security is a positive sign for the nation.

The president's proposal is to save any budget surplus in the coming budget for dealing with Social Security. He says he wants a national discussion on what can be done to revamp the program so it can accommodate the baby boomers when they start retiring in another decade or so, and he seeks a plan of action by next year.

There's a lot of folderol in all of this, of course. If you figure what's owed to Social Security to begin with, the budget will have no surplus. The president also says this surplus will be put in a "reserve fund," even though there is no such animal.

The best thing would be for him to spell out a plan of action and get on with it pronto. But then, this is an election year, this is a tricky issue, and the president can actually earn some applause for making it clear he does plan to address the problem eventually.

And, yes, it is a good thing to let surpluses reduce the debt so that, when it comes time to pay some of Social Security's major bills, the money can be borrowed without inflating the debt to the point of bursting.

Trust fund fiction

The administration speaks of a Social Security trust fund, but that's a fiction. What exists is an unfunded liability that, by 2012 when Social Security goes into deficit, will be about $3 trillion. That's when it will be necessary to start borrowing -- or to stop paying benefits at anywhere close to the same level or to raise taxes astronomically.

Up until lately, the congressional Republicans have mostly talked about applying any budget surpluses to tax cuts, but that would be irresponsible without a concrete plan of action on Social Security (and on Medicare, too). House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others Republicans are now acknowledging the importance of saving at least a portion of any surpluses to deal with Social Security.

It is beginning to look as if the president and Congress are eventually going to get around to a responsible position on what may be as crucial a matter as faces the federal government.