Dear John,

Last week, I had the opportunity to appear on C-SPAN to debate the importance of protecting and preserving Social Security with Mark Warshawsky, a Senior Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute who supports making cuts and other "reforms” to America’s social safety net programs. I was pleased to hear so many people from the public call in to the program with their questions and concerns about the future of this vital program.

I reminded Mr. Warshawksy that Social Security is self-funded and doesn’t contribute a dime to the budget deficits. And that’s why it shouldn’t be a part of upcoming debt ceiling negotiations. It must be preserved and strengthened for years to come.

While Mr. Warshawsky and I basically agreed that we didn’t want to see benefits cut for retirees when the insolvency date is estimated to be reached in 2035, we diverged on how to address the looming shortfall. If Congress fails to take action in time, seniors’ earned benefits will be cut by 20% and that would be devastating for all beneficiaries, particularly for the more than 50% of retirees who rely on Social Security for most of their income in retirement.

That’s why, with the backing of our million+ membership, the National Committee is calling for proposals that would bring more revenue into the Social Security Trust Fund by raising the cap on payroll taxes and requiring high-income earners to pay their fair share into the program. But Mr. Warshawsky is calling for drastic changes to the Social Security benefit formula (otherwise known as means testing), raising the retirement age and cutting the annual Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA).

Means testing is a bad idea because it would turn Social Security into a welfare program. And if you change the nature of Social Security through means testing, you’ll likely lose public support for the program — which is the goal of those who want to destroy Social Security.

It’s media appearances like this that help the National Committee make the case on a national stage for preserving the benefits that American workers have paid into and earned during their working lives. And right now, in the face of unprecedented threats to Social Security, we must remain vigilant against calls to “scale back” and “redesign” this program because a cut is a cut is a cut.

I look forward to continuing to take this debate about Social Security’s future before those who are pushing for deep cuts to this program and who want to privatize it for the benefit of Wall Street brokers. We believe the facts are on our side, and we have broad public support — across party lines — from hardworking Americans like you for maintaining and improving benefits.

Please consider chipping in a gift today to support our important work on your behalf in Washington, DC.

Sincerely,

Max Richtman
President & CEO