Reply #5: Early in the 90s...

[w13rd0]

...there was much talk about how to handle the impeding crises when Baby Boomers began to retire.

From the Russert MTP Interview:
"Dr. Dean: Social Security, I—the best way to balance Social Security budget right now… is to expand the amount of money that Social Security payroll taxes apply to. It's limited now to something like $80,000. You let that rise. I also would entertain taking the retirement age to 68. It's at 67 now. I would entertain that."

"Mr. Russert: When the baby boomers retire, we have a real impending crisis.

Dr. Dean: That's right. First of all, you've got to fix Social Security and you've got to fix the budget. Fixing Social Security is an independent problem from the budget.

You've got to look at expanding the amount of money that gets taxed for Social Security. You know, if you make $100,000 a year, the last $15,000 doesn't have to pay Social Security tax for it."

As you can see, he talks about investigating options. I don't know about you, but I'd rather hear from someone who is willing to look at the reality of a situation and propose solutions than someone who is going to lie to me about what I can expect in the future. He does not say, "I'll raise the retirement age and slash benefits". He discusses possible options in the event that we don't see an economic recovery that will sufficiently cover future expenditures for baby boomer retirement.