What the AJC has to say

Under-35 set skeptical of Social Security
By RODNEY HO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/02/05

Social Security turns plenty of metro Atlantans under 35 into fatalists.
"My expectations are nil," said Nicole Jurovics, 32, a Grant Park concert booker.
"I never counted on it," said Marshall Chiles, a 34-year-old Roswell-based owner of a comedy club.
"Once they go through the baby boomers, we'll be left on our own," rued Ginger Lightburn, 28, an Atlanta-based account supervisor for a marketing firm.
In a Newsweek poll last month, 62 percent of adults ages 18 to 34 didn't think Social Security would be able to pay all the benefits they were entitled to under current law by the time they retire.
But this is a generation that grew up with a long bull market, greater homeownership and millions of middle-class Americans pouring money into mutual funds and 401(k)s.
As a result, nearly half of the 18- to 34-year-olds support President Bush's idea of creating private accounts out of a portion of their Social Security payments, according to that same Newsweek poll. That's higher than support from the baby boomers.
"I disagree with 75 percent of what Bush says, but I agree we need to revamp Social Security," said Eric Lowe, a 34-year-old Douglasville insurance adjuster who puts 15 percent of his salary into a 401(k). "If you look at the life expectancy of black men, a lot of us are not getting back what we're putting into Social Security."
But Bush's efforts to build support have not worked well. Polls show he has actually lost support since he launched his privatization campaign in January. And even some Republicans in Congress are skeptical.
To try to reverse the momentum, the president is planning to visit several states in the next couple of weeks, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana (though not Georgia.)
Bush also is calibrating his message to appeal to different age groups.
"I will continue to reassure those of you born before 1950 that your Social Security benefits will not change in any way: You will receive your checks, and that is a fact," he said in his most recent radio address.
For younger workers more supportive of his plan, the president said, "The current system has made promises that it cannot keep, and that is also a fact."
Clarissa Smith, a 32-year-old Jonesboro real estate loan originator, thinks the focus on Social Security is misplaced, that the current government debt is more of a problem.
"We're so much of a here-and-now generation," said Smith, who is salting away money in real estate as a way to build assets for retirement. "I think it's a smokescreen to divert us from bigger issues like the current debt. How are my children's children going to pay that?"
Steve Jasmin, a 21-year-old Emory senior with his own media production and event planning business, believes the government will find a way to keep Social Security alive by the time he hits 70.
"It'll be here in some incarnation," he said. "They'll bump up the retirement age, reduce the benefits. It'll survive."
Jasmin said the bigger problem is the escalating cost of Medicare. "If they can manage health care, then they can handle Social Security," he said.
While he supports privatization as an option, he said he's not sure a lot of people will be able to handle private accounts. "I don't think Mr. Blue Collar worker in North Dakota will be able to understand what this means," Jasmin said.
Aaron Fullen, a 30-year-old Atlanta software salesman, would be happy to phase out the 70-year program completely. "I'd love for the government to establish a fund to pay for those who haven't had a chance to create their own private accounts," said Fullen, an avowed anti-tax advocate. "For people like me, I can choose never to pay another dime into Social Security."
Realistically, Fullen knows that is unlikely to happen.
"Trying to get rid of a government program is like trying to turn an aircraft carrier," he said. "Social Security established a culture of dependence. And government is really skittish of giving people a choice."