This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The editorial "Social Security: It's time to face facts" (Our View, June 3) claimed that Social Security and Medicare "are major drivers of federal budget deficits, and the United States must reform both if it is going to get a handle on the growing national debt. … that's a fact."
No, it's not a fact; it's opinion. The editorial carefully avoids claiming that these entitlements are the major drivers of the annual deficit.
Remember the Clinton budget surpluses? America entered the 21st century with a budget surplus of $86.4 billion.
What happened in the past 11 years? Not Social Security or Medicare. Three things happened: 9/11 and two wars, the Bush tax cuts and the Great Recession.
There is little we can now do to reduce the budgetary consequences of the wars or the recession. That leaves the tax cuts.
Since 1944, the marginal tax rate paid on the nation's highest incomes has decreased by 63 percent, from 94 cents to 35 cents per dollar, and U.S. tax policy has favored passive or unearned income like stock dividends.
Before taking aim at the safety net that working Americans rely on, let's roll back the Bush tax cuts and reform the tax treatment of capital gains.
Amanda Barusch
Salt Lake City