Marshall Sanford: “There is the old saying of hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, the three monkeys. That seems to be the way…”

“There is the old saying of hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, the three monkeys. That seems to be the way Congress is at this point approaching Social Security. It is the most important program we have in this country and it is absolutely vital that we save it. To save it, we have to begin, as the gentleman suggested, by talking about it. What is interesting about this problem is not what Republicans have said, not what Democrats have said, not what Ross Perot has said, but what the trustees for the trust fund itself have said; that if we do nothing, Social Security will go bankrupt in 2029, and it will begin to run deficits around 2012 when those baby boomers begin to retire, such that either we have to look at raising payroll taxes by about 16 percent, or cutting benefits by about 14 percent, or growing the deficit by roughly the same number. What I hear from folks back home in the district is, Mark, I am struggling. The idea of raising my payroll taxes by another 16 percent makes no sense to me. When I talk to seniors, they say, Mark, I am struggling. The idea of cutting my benefits by 14 percent is not an option.”