Herseth for Congress

Herseth talks about Social Security in Huron
BY ROGER KASA, Huron Plainsman
March 31, 2005

Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., said Wednesday afternoon the Social Security program is sound through 2052, and she doesn’t see any need to make changes to it at this time.

Addressing about 35 people at the Coffee Tree in Huron, in one of her town hall discussions on Social Security, Herseth said when the program was adopted in 1935, “Even then the people realized there would be the need to make some changes over the years.”

But she said the Social Security trust fund currently stands at $1.7 trillion.
Of the current beneficiaries, Herseth said two-thirds are retirees with the rest being survivors or disabled.

She said 96 percent of South Dakotans over the age of 65 receive Social Security benefits, and the program keeps 44,000 South Dakotans out of poverty.

The average monthly benefit for retired South Dakotans is $845.
“I don’t believe there is a crisis,” she said, “but we do have long-term challenges with the trust fund.”

Herseth said she doesn’t believe the country will face a crisis until 2052 when there will be a slight reduction in benefits, “if we don’t make changes before that.”

But she expressed her opposition to President Bush’s privatization plan that will add to an already skyrocketing debt, she said.

Herseth said Social Security “is the one thing we all have in common.”

She added, Social Security is not an investment, it’s an insurance fund.
She said President Bush appointed a committee in 2001 to look at the Social Security program and recommended changes.

That has resulted in the privatization plan “which includes a benefit cut for everyone before we even start.”

Herseth said Congress “is not going to allow Americans to live in poverty. We will make the necessary changes to the program before that happens.”

And she said, “If the president’s plan does pass, you will be flooded with phone calls from Wall Street to manage your accounts.”

During the question-and-answer period, one person thought there should be a lid put on the amount of money that is taken out of the Social Security trust fund and used for other programs.

Still another person wondered if there was a hidden agenda in Bush’s plan.
“Is he trying to get rid of Social Security?” he asked.

Herseth was asked what kind of reaction she was getting from younger people as she travels the state.

“The more information we put out about the program, the opposition seems to be growing,” she said.

Herseth said what needs to happen is that the president should appoint a commission that will take a bipartisan approach to the issue and not just privatization.

“Why do we need to take the security out of Social Security?” she asked.
Another person in the audience felt the president was pushing his plan to take the American people’s mind off the war in Iraq.

Still another person said if Congress and the president want to solve a major issue, why don’t they tackle the energy problem?

In the information provided by Herseth, it is stated that 137,879 South Dakotans receive Social Security. That means nearly 20 percent of the state’s population relies on the program for their retirement security.

She said workers currently find that 12.4 percent is paid for Social Security each month, one-half by the worker and the other half by the employer.

By the year 2018, it is estimated by the Social Security Administration that more money will be paid out from the trust fund to retirees than is collected from workers.

The fund will still have enough to pay out 100 percent to retires, but will be drawing from the surplus that currently is building up.