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PRESS RELEASE FROM AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM
Contact: John Kartch ( jkartch@atr.org or 202-785-0266)

[View Printable Adobe Acrobat File]

5/03/05

Social Security Fact of the Day #43
Social Security cannot afford to pay all of the benefits it has promised. Beginning in 2017, it will run cash deficits that get bigger every year.

When opponents of personal accounts can even bring themselves to admit that Americans do save for their retirement from time to time, a secondary argument is made that Americans trust traditional bank interest over “risky” stocks. The trillions of dollars in stocks and stock mutual funds that Americans hold in IRAs and 401(k) plans are powerful testimony against this. Another indicator is that Americans are abandoning bank interest savings products in droves. From 1989 to 2004, the percentage of American households’ earnings derived from interest declined from 16% to less than 10%--nearly a 40% drop. During that same time period, dividend earnings from taxable stocks in brokerage accounts increased by 35%.

Social Security has a problem, and we need to fix it. Personal accounts are the solution.

Americans More and More Likely to Invest in Stocks Rather Than Save in Banks
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce

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Americans for Tax Reform is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose any and all federal and state tax increases.  For more information, or to arrange an interview with Mr. Norquist please contact John Kartch at (202)785-0266 or by email at jkartch@atr.org.