| Detroit News Letters to the Editor Regarding the Aug. 23 editorial, "Don't Blame Bush Tax-Cuts for Declining Budget Surplus." The News' editorial hit the nail on the head: "Congress has been raiding Social Security's trust fund forever." It doesn't matter how the money is spent -- on other programs of to pay down debt -- the end result is exactly the same. Each year Social Security runs a surplus, the cash is transferred to the general budget and spent on other projects. And in the past couple of years, the surplus was used to py down debt. Meanwhile, the trust fund is stuffed full of IOUs. Regardless of how the money is spent, these IOUs can only be reclaimed by raising taxes, cutting benefits, cutting other government spending or increasing debt. The best way to ensure that future Social Security surpluses are actually saved is to get them out of the government's hands altogether: Use them to create personal retirement accounts and invest the money in real assets. Matt Moore |
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