It’s sad, but perhaps useful, that the Simpson-Bowles commission has made Social Security a part of its program to protect American from its national debt. Unlike the national debt, Social Security isn’t vulnerable until 2037—over a quarter century from now–but conservatives are smart and have a love affair with the private sector, financial markets especially. To be fair, liberals of the past and present contributed to the problem. Baby boomers, when they were younger have given the conservatives ammunition for years by buying their rhetoric. How many times have you heard someone say, when Social Security was mentioned: “Oh, Social Security. I don’t ever expect to get it.”
Ignorance may be bliss, but there’s another common phrase: “perception becomes reality.” Few realize that Social Security is not just a retirement program. It’s social insurance which is why conservatives hate it. To conservatives private insurance is fine, but government insurance is un-American, unless it’s the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) that protects banks as well as individual depositors.
But Social Security? It’s too close to welfare. Like the new health care bill, Social Security, when adopted–and as revised over the years–has numerous provisions that aim to, as the U.S. Constitution states, “promote the general welfare.” But for simplicity’s sake, and because Americans don’t like “welfare,” Social Security has always been sold politically as a retirement program.
I reiterate. It’s social insurance. As of December, 2009 almost 858,000 Minnesotans were receiving Social Security, but only about 550,000—64%–were retirees. Some 58,000 were children who either had a deceased or disabled parent or were themselves disabled. The balance were disabled workers, their dependents, and dependents of retirees, and a miniscule number of parents of retired or disabled workers. (Yes, parents can become dependents. Just be glad most of ours have Social Security.) And please note: Social Security pays more benefits to children than any other government program.
But our American individualism idea—we can make it on our own!—prevails. We hide the truth about promoting the general welfare. Recently, a middle-aged, liberal but well-heeled woman confessed at a 75th anniversary celebration of Social Security that she had been a recipient of the program while in college. Her father had died. At that time Social Security was the nation’s largest college scholarship program because children of deceased parents were eligible recipients until they reached age 22 so long as they remained in an educational institution. Under President Reagan this program was abolished, the age limit reduced to sixteen or graduation from high school by age 18.
Building on the perception that Social Security is only a retirement program, the odds are that a conservative Congress will chip away at the best social insurance program this nation has devised.
This podcast features Nan Madden, Director, MN Budget Project at the MN Council of Nonprofits. Madden is an active voice for tax fairness, a balanced approach to MN’s budget, adequate funding for government programs and author of numerous publications on fiscal issues and economic self-sufficiency.
DFL Education Foundation 
Dayton Uses a Balanced Approach to Balance the Budget
Christina Wessel
The major elements of his proposal include:
$950 million in spending reductions. Any balanced approach to solving the state’s budget crisis must include spending reductions. Years of budget cuts have already forced significant cutbacks in state services, so there are no easy choices left. Governor Dayton’s proposal includes $680 million in reductions to health and human services, including cuts to health care eligibility, payments to health care providers, and services for people with disabilities. Some cuts in this area are offset by drawing down federal funding.
Read more at TC Daily Planet…
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