Everywhere you look today in the media, President Bush and his political allies are telling us that Social Security is in crisis, is going bankrupt, and that it will not be there for younger generations when they retire. This is simply not true.

Social Security is not going "bankrupt" and independent studies prove conclusively that there is no Social Security "crisis." According to a recent report of the Social Security board of trustees, if Congress does nothing (and I certainly hope that Congress will take action) Social Security will pay out every dollar owed to every eligible American for the next 37 years. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) goes even further and projects that Social Security can pay out all of its benefits for the next 47 years, to the year 2052. After that, there will be enough funding available to pay out 80 percent of promised benefits and, with minor adjustments, 100 percent of benefits. That hardly matches the doom and gloom predictions that those who want to "fix" Social Security are making.

Let's be clear. Social Security has been the most successful anti-poverty program in American history. During the last 70 or so years, whether the economy was strong or weak, whether the stock market was up or down, every eligible American received every nickel that he or she was entitled to. As recently as 1960, half our seniors were officially poor. Now, largely because of increases in Social Security, only 10 percent are. We should not begin dismantling a program that has been extraordinarily successful in providing dignity not only for older Americans, but also for millions of others who are disabled and who receive survivors' benefits.

The truth is that the changes that the Bush administration wants to make to Social Security -- allowing people to divert their Social Security taxes into new privatization accounts -- will make Social Security less financially sound. In fact, estimates are that privatizing Social Security will cause an additional $2 trillion shortfall in the Social Security system which can only be made up by increasing the national debt or taxes.

Not only will privatization accounts make Social Security less sound, it will also hurt the financial well-being of America's seniors. That is why the President's proposal is being opposed by all of the major senior citizen organizations including AARP, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and the Association of Retired Americans. If the President is successful, estimates are that future Social Security benefits will be cut by up to 40 percent. Further, the President indicated in his State of the Union address that he was open to raising the retirement age.

We must never forget that Social Security is a social insurance program. It guarantees benefits to all who participate, unlike privatization accounts that are at the mercy of swings in the stock and bond markets. If people want to take the risks involved in investing in Wall Street, and millions do, they have every right in the world to do so. But that's not what Social Security was set up to do.

Not too surprisingly, investment firms on Wall Street are spending tens of millions in lobbying and advertising for the creation of these privatized accounts. They think privatization is a great idea because they stand to make hundreds of billions by managing the money in those accounts.

Will some people make more by having their money in a privatization account even with a 40 percent cut in their Social Security benefits? According to the independent Congressional Budget Office workers will be worse off. For example, under the Bush plan the CBO estimates that workers born in 2000 and retiring in 2065 will lose $111,900, or 37 percent of their scheduled benefits even after accounting for income from private accounts. In addition, unlike private accounts, Social Security provides uninterrupted benefits for life. That means women will be particularly hard hit by moving toward privatization because they tend to live longer than men.

The fact that Social Security is not in "crisis" and is not going "bankrupt" doesn't mean that the Congress should do nothing. In my view, over the next several years Congress should take a hard look at Social Security to make sure that it is strong and solvent not just for the next 37 or 47 years, as it is now, but even further into the future.

One proposal being seriously considered is to lift the cap, currently at $90,000, on earnings subject to the Social Security tax. Currently, a multi-millionaire pays exactly the same amount of Social Security taxes as someone making $90,000 a year. An individual making $13 million a year is finished paying his social security payroll tax in two days. According to a recent report by Social Security actuaries, lifting that cap would eliminate the projected shortfall and allow the system to remain solvent for the next 75 years -- which is traditionally as far into the future as actuaries project.

Social Security does not face a financial crisis. It faces a political crisis. If Congress is prepared to stand up to the powerful special interests who want to destroy Social Security, we can easily find a solution so that our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy the guarantees and benefits of this enormously successful program.

Rep. Sanders will hold a town meeting on Social Security in South Burlington on Saturday. The meeting will take place at 12:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Williston Road. Light lunch served at 11:30. For more information contact (800) 339-9834.

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