Social Security isn’t broken; stop fixing it

In discussions about the crisis with the federal budget deficit and national debt, we continuously hear that Social Security must be reformed as part of the solution to the problem. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Until this year, Social Security tax collections have exceeded payouts by $2.5 trillion. Social Security has not added a penny to the debt. The problem is that the surplus was mixed with other government tax income to pay for other programs or to cut income taxes. An IOU was tossed in a file each year for the Social Security tax surplus. Because of the economy, unemployment and a lowering of the Social Security tax rates for this year, payouts will exceed collections.

In a few years, payouts will exceed income each year, so the IOUs will have to be paid. This will require an income tax increase or cuts in other programs.

The $2.5 trillion surplus would have supported the current payout rate for 27 years. It's time for politicians to stop using the fund as a cash cow and trying to reform it so as not to have to repay the fund.

Ron Johnson

Iowa City