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COPYRIGHT 2004 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com
Byline: Jane Bryant Quinn, Reporter associate: Temma Ehrenfeld
Social Security reformers are totally bogged down. Whether that's good news or bad news, I'm not sure. Most Republicans seek an extreme makeover--diverting some of your payroll tax into a private investment account. Most Democrats say phooey, that's too costly and risky, and anyway the program only needs some tweaks. A few rebels think that everyone is crying wolf: Social Security may not need any fixes at all.
The 2004 Social Security trustees' report, due out this week, shows that full benefits can be paid for nearly 40 years, without skipping a beat. After that, payouts could be reduced by 25 percent, but Congress wouldn't let the program unravel that far. Even if it did, the "loss" wouldn't be as bad as it sounds....
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