Timing isn’t right to
alter Social SecurityThe issue: A presidential commission
has recommended options for allowing
private investments to be part of Social Security.PRESIDENT Bush has gained political capital from public support for the war against terrorism, but how much of that he will be willing to expend on revamping Social Security is questionable. Any push for a rapid overhaul to allow workers to risk part of their payroll taxes in the stock market is likely to become an issue in next year's congressional elections.
A government-financed system that has worked well for 66 years undoubtedly faces a difficult period in trying to meet the fast-approaching retirement needs of the baby boomers; retirees number more than new workers paying into the system. By some accounts, the cost of providing for private accounts could exceed that of shoring up the system's current framework. Proponents of the overhaul have yet to prove their case.
A commission that the president stacked with those who support his proposal on setting up private accounts with some of their Social Security taxes failed to reach a consensus on a plan. Instead, the commission offered three choices, with assurance that none would affect the benefits of the 44 million people now receiving retirement checks or workers who are 55 or older.
The commission estimated it would cost up to $3.4 trillion of additional revenue to create the private accounts, nearly as much as it would take to rescue the current system. That would have to come from increased borrowing, higher taxes or spending cuts in programs that are feeling the strain of a struggling economy and wartime priorities. Bush's tax cut this year added to the problem.
"This is the mother of all asterisks," says Peter R. Orszag, an economist at the Brookings Institution. "Given the tax cut, the slowing economy and the associated security costs of the war on terrorism, there's no money left in the non-Social Security budget."
Richard D. Parson, the commission's co-chairman who was named last week to be the next chief executive of AOL Time Warner, said in July that Congress should "move boldly and rapidly" on the overhaul. Still enthusiastic, Parson said this week that President Bush assured him that he would highlight the issue in the upcoming State of the Union address.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, however, the issue might not be at the top of the president's legislative agenda, "given the fact that we now have a recession and a war." President Clinton shied away from the issue after supporting partial privatization of Social Security. It should return to the back burner until more pressing concerns have been adequately addressed.
Too much food and fat,
too little exerciseThe issue: The surgeon general reports
that weight-related illnesses will overtake
tobacco as a cause of premature death.Americans eat too much junk food, spend too many hours in front of the television set and do not get off their duffs enough to exercise, says the surgeon general, and he wants a national program in schools, restaurants, government and workplaces to help.
There's no doubt that private and public organizations could do much to encourage healthier lifestyles, but ultimately the choice is individual. No amount of prodding can force a person to eat a peach instead of a pie or take a hike instead of a nap.
In an alarming report, Surgeon General David Satcher said that obesity may soon overtake tobacco as the primary cause of premature death. About 60 percent of adults are overweight or obese, as are nearly 13 percent of children. Weight-related illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes kill 300,000 Americans annually, more than those who die of pneumonia, vehicle accidents and airline crashes combined. By comparison, tobacco-related conditions cause 430,000 deaths yearly.
Obesity is of particular concern in Hawaii where Hawaiian, Pacific Island and Filipino ethnic groups have a greater chance of developing heart-related illnesses. Because of genetic susceptibility and non-traditional diets, Hawaiians specifically are at higher risk.
The cure is not a surprise: Eat fewer fatty foods, more fruits and vegetables. Satcher proposes that schools require daily physical education in every grade, which Hawaii doesn't. He would require healthful foods be on the school lunch menu and restrict junk food in campus vending machines. Municipalities would have safe playgrounds, sidewalks and walking trails while employers would give workers exercise breaks. Satcher wants the fast-food and restaurant industry to cut portions and offer foods lower in fat and calories.
Save the intrusion on the food industry, which should be left to market forces, none of these ideas is contentious. Even so, people live in a manner of their own choosing. Spending Sunday morning watching the NFL while hunkered in a La-Z-Boy with a six-pack, Slim-Jims and a bag of chips is an American birthright.
It may be that education and more opportunity for exercise will motivate people to get healthy. The surgeon general's report may shift what is essentially a personal problem to a societal issue, as with smoking. But it will be difficult to legislate eating and exercise, to persuade people to choose an apple over two-scoop rice with macaroni salad.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
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