Rod Grams: “for over six decades people have come to rely, expect, and depend on investments made into the Social Security system.…”

“for over six decades people have come to rely, expect, and depend on investments made into the Social Security system. However, the very financial structure created with the program in 1935 is about to face some very significant strains placed on it by changes in demographics and also by poor fiscal management by Washington. Basically, we are at a crossroads. Do we let the system wither on the vine or do we work to save Social Security? At the crux of this discussion is how best to serve our Nation's retirees. How can we offer them the most financial security in their retirement? I have some ideas I have shared with Minnesotans and also with the Senate. They are aimed at saving the Social Security system. It is a package of proposals, the Grams Plan for Retirement Security, that encompasses what we expect to do to protect and preserve the existing system, as well as what other steps we might take to offer retirees more security in their elder years. There are several main elements in my package. On Monday, I introduced the Social Security and Medicare Surplus Protection Act which would trigger an automatic across-the-board cut if the Government would happen to spend any of the surpluses, either Social Security or Medicare. In effect, this creates a retroactive lockbox to protect Social Security and Medicare surpluses.”