CO-AUTHORED BY NANCY ALTMAN and SUZANNE BLOUIN
This week, the Social Security Administration will name a boulevard on its Woodlawn campus, west of Baltimore, after a man who contributed enormously to the creation and development of Social Security. Robert J. Myers began working on Social Security in 1934 -- the year before Social Security was enacted. He served as its Chief Actuary from 1947 to 1969. And he remained active in Social Security policymaking in and out of government well into his 90's.
Presidents and Members of Congress in both parties considered themselves fortunate to have the expertise of Bob Myers available to them at critical moments in the development of Social Security. Indeed, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan labeled him "a national treasure."
Both of us had the good fortune to work closely with this brilliant, soft-spoken, dedicated public servant. To be working on a day to day basis with such a giant in the field of Social Security was both an honor and a privilege.
Bob was a man of deep and intense principles. Everyone who knew him knew that he was a man of the highest integrity. These qualities are what made him so successful, in addition to his sheer intelligence and work ethic. For seven decades, Bob was an important participant in national debates of the government's role in creating and maintaining Social Security as the bedrock of financial security for American families.
Bob was committed to a Social Security program that would deliver on its promises. He was completely trusted by both sides of the political aisle. Though he had strong views, he knew how to be objective and he valued accuracy. Though a Republican for most of his life, Democrats and Republicans alike knew he was a straight shooter, and they trusted his numbers and explanations implicitly and completely.
Bob understood the importance of numbers that everyone could trust. He set the highest ethical and professional standard for the Office of the Actuary at the Social Security Administration, a standard all of his successors have aspired to match.
Always generous with his time, Bob had an open door policy. We took advantage of that generosity and spent hours and hours in his office where he regaled us with fascinating stories about the early days of the program and where he also explained in careful and intricate detail how certain provisions of Social Security came about, how an arcane part of Social Security worked, or how a particular senator's concern had led to some odd compromise in the law. His knowledge was encyclopedic; truly unparalleled.
Bob was not just generous with us. He always willingly and meticulously reviewed, with his omnipresent thick black marker, any writing of any scholar, journalist, or student of the program who asked (and sometimes those who did not ask). It didn't matter whether the person was well known or not, whether Bob agreed with the point of view or not; he was interested in making sure that the facts of Social Security formed the basis of all debates.
Bob would have surely been appalled today at prominent politicians describing the program he helped create, as a "Ponzi scheme." He would have certainly been perturbed when politicians referred to Social Security's trust fund investments as "just IOUs." He would have carefully explained that Social Security's assets are invested in Treasury bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the safest and most secure investment on Earth. Indeed, if alive today, he and his black pen would be very busy!
Though most Americans are unaware of the name Bob Myers, the entire nation has benefited from his dedicated, invaluable service which he gave so willingly, so generously, and so well. The economic security of Americans is greater and their lives are better because of his life.
We can only hope that those dealing with Social Security today aspire to Bob's high level of integrity and expertise.
He was a giant -- to those of us lucky enough to have known him and have worked with him, and to all Americans whose lives are made more secure by Social Security.
Suzanne Blouin is retired after a thirty-five year career dedicated to Social Security. Nancy Altman is the author of The Battle for Social Security and co-directs Social Security Works.
Follow Nancy Altman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NoSocSecCuts
On March 16, 2011, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) uttered the following words during a Senate speech.
“Congresses under both Republican and Democrat control, both Republican and Democrat presidents, have stolen money from social security and spent it. The money’s gone. It’s been used for another purpose.”
The following morning, during an appearance on MSNB, Senator Coburn said,
“We have stolen $2.6 trillion from it. We put paper money in there. But the problem is we spent the money. We didn’t just take it. We took it and spent it.”
Every word that Senator Coburn spoke was absolutely true, and all members of Congress, and the President, know that they are true. The mainstream media honors the government’s wishes that the story not be reported, but the American people have both a need and a right to know that the Social Security money has already been spent.
To learn more about the “Great Social Security Theft” please click on this link. www.thebiglie.net
Allen W. Smith, Ph.D.
ironwoodas@aol.com
LIE 1. Social Security has no financial problems. With no government action of any kind, Social Security can pay full benefits until 2036.
LIE 2. Social Security, in its current form, is unsustainable. It is going broke, or it will go broke.
THE TRUTH: All of the $2.6 trillion in surplus Social Security revenue generated by the 1983 payroll tax hike has spent by the government, as it came in, for other government programs. The year 2009 was the last year in which the Social Security budget ran a surplus. Beginning in 2010, Social Security began running annual budget deficits. In 2011, and all future years, the cost of Social Security benefits will exceed the payroll tax revenue, and the government will have to dig into the general fund in order to pay full benefits
If the $2.6 trillion had not been spent on other things, Social Security could pay full benefits until 2036. Social Security could be made fully solvent for decades beyond 2036 with a single legislative act. If the cap on earnings subject to the payroll tax were removed, Social Security would be fully solvent for at least another 75 years.
Allen W. Smith, Ph.D. www.thebiglie.net
Every dollar of the $2.6 trillion in surplus revenue, was spent on general government operations. None of the money was saved, and none of the money was invested. Anyone can prove to themselves that none of the Social Security money was saved by simply checking the federal budgets for the past 25 years. Add up all of the federal revenue, including the payroll tax revenue. Then add up all of the federal spending, including the payment of Social Security benefits. For any saving to have taken place, the total revenue would have to exceed the total federal spending. But it does not. The government spent all of its general revenue, plus all of the surplus Social Security revenue, and then had to borrow massive additional amounts just to pay its bills. Money can be spent or saved. If it is saved, it can also be invested. But, without saving, no investment can take place. The IOUs in the trust fund are nothing more than an accounting device to keep track of how much Social Security money has been spent on other things.
Allen W. Smith, Ph.D.