Let me just get a few things out of the way: Social Security is a critical government program that needs to be protected. The program is also not in a crisis, continues to run a surplus and is adequately funded for decades to come. That said, we do have a large budget deficit and debt load that requires attention, and Social Security plays a large role in that discussion. The president has created an independent commission to come up with a package of deficit-cutting measures ranging from tax increases to spending cuts. This proposal, like much of President Obama's commentary about the budget, has come under scrutiny from some on the left who believe he has a secret agenda to cut social security. Now, a variety of activists and groups are organizing to ensure the deficit commission doesn't go after benefits.
This opposition comes from the right place -- there are indeed political actors motivated by fear that someone, somewhere will have access to social insurance -- and the progressive commitment to fighting that impulse is to be commended. But progressives also believe in good government, and they can support fixes for Social Security that would reflect our changing economy, particularly on the revenue and cost-indexing aspects of the social security project. Deficit-reduction efforts can provide an opportunity to improve social security as well as hurt it, and progressives should think about how to take advantage of it.
On the politics of the issue, too, progressives win when they are more reasonable than conservatives: We can find spending to cut and taxes to raise, unlike conservatives who appear unreasonable, ideological and doctrinaire when they announce that any revenue increasing measures -- or attempts to close tax loopholes -- are simply off the table. Doing the same on the issue of Social Security before the process has even begun makes progressives appear just as close-minded.
Remember that the longer this deficit stalemate continues, the worse the fallout will be down the road when we have no choice but to take dramatic action to rein in the deficit -- at that point, protecting progressive programs and priorities will be even more difficult. To really protect Social Security, progressives need to protect the government's broader fiscal health. That certainly does not mean austerity now, but it does mean engaging in processes that gradually shift towards a sustainable future.
-- Tim Fernholz
