We can give them a better hope for retirement than that they must pay higher taxes to support the retirement of Baby Boomers only to find the cupboard bare when their turn comes. Social Security can work for this generation and the next, and the next - if we only have the will today to preserve and strengthen it. This is the moment of opportunity for real change. But let us be clear. Reform does not mean settling for marginal extensions in solvency that are mostly achieved by playing with numbers or imposing new burdens on generations yet unborn.
Reform means real change, structural changes.
Americans should insist that in this election year, candidates for federal office talk about this issue and have the courage to make changes which preserve Social Security for those who depend on it today and those who will depend on it tomorrow. No role of government is more important, more basic, than public safety. We must stop those who prey upon Americans in their homes and on our streets. Although violent crime has dropped, it is still three times higher than in 1960. Our constitutional promise of domestic tranquillity is still far from being fulfilled.