The Bush administration and radical Republicans have been trying to convince the American public that our Social Security system is in danger of going bankrupt.

They’re running around the country like Chicken Little hollering, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” They offer a bogus solution to a phony crisis: Take $1.4 trillion from our Social Security trust fund and privatize it. In other words, hand all that money of ours over to Wall Street speculators. That $1.4 trillion constitutes merely a down payment on the radical Republican scheme to raid the Social Security trust fund.

But the truth is, Social Security is a great American success story.

According to Social Security and the Golden Age, a new book by former Senator George McGovern, Democrat of South Dakota:

“The system operates with unparalleled efficiency, returning more than 99 cents in benefits for every dollar that it takes in. Its administrative costs are far lower than those in any private program, or in any other government program. The trust fund contains not billions of dollars, but trillions, and is still growing. There is no funding crisis here.”

Though progressives have temporarily stopped the drive to privatize Social Security, we must continue to be vigilant.

The president’s proposal to privatize Social Security claims a crisis where no crisis exists.

The president’s proposal would cut Social Security benefits for current retirees by more than 40 percent.

The president’s proposal would cut benefits for today’s young workers by $152,000 over their careers.

The president’s proposal would add nearly $5 trillion to the national debt.

Jonathan Tasini stands for the truth as reported by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the nonpartisan Center on Budget Policy and Priorities in December 2004:

Today’s Social Security trust fund reserve account is $1.7 trillion, which by itself would provide full benefits for nearly 50 years. Minor changes through bipartisan legislation would extend this guaranteed payout well into the next century.

As Senator, Jonathan Tasini will protect the spectacular success of Social Security.