Versus: Can Social Security Reform Wait?

July 24, 2007
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

The Social Security solvency debate has now lingered for years, despite continual calls for reform by the Social Security trustees. Some observers argue the contrary, that there's no reason to engage in reform now; let's wait and see what economic news brings. In any case, tentative efforts by Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have gone nowhere, and the creation of yet another Social Security commission got almost no traction.

Meanwhile, most projections of government deficits indicate that health care is the 800-pound gorilla in the budget debate. Perhaps we should just turn to health care and forget Social Security for a while. In this session of Versus, Gene Steuerle takes the pro and Dean Baker the con on pushing for immediate Social Security reform.

• Dean Baker, codirector, Center for Economic and Policy Research
• C. Eugene Steuerle, senior fellow, Urban Institute
• Robert Reischauer, president, Urban Institute and former director, Congressional Budget Office (moderator)

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