How pitiful is this? PBS's Tavis Smiley allowed Alan Simpson to come on the air and fearmonger about how Social Security is in dire straights without mentioning that raising the cap would keep it solvent for years to come. He also pretended that there is not solid information on how long Social Security will remain solvent and that there is some question yet to be resolved as to what that number is.
SMILEY: When you talk about Social Security, what are the American people to believe, because in this debate about the solvency of Social Security and how long it will be solvent, you can get any number you want to find from any source because there's so many axes being grind in on this issue, I'm not sure I know, as informed as I think I am about these issues with hosting this show every night that I know what to believe because you get so many different numbers on the solvency into the future of SSI.
Shame on you Tavis Smiley. There's one place to get info on that solvency. That's the Office of the Chief Actuary.. If you can't take the time to read through their publications, don't have fearmongers like Alan Simpson on your show in the first place.
Social Security is not broke. The politicians in this country are looking for reasons not to pay the debt that's been borrowed against that surplus back. Any lack of funds for Social Security has many, many years before it has to be addressed and raising the payroll taxes and making it a less regressive tax would fix that now if they really want to make sure the fund stays solvent for decades to come.
If you want to consider yourself a journalist or an advocate for the working class in America, you just proved you're not with this interview. Journalists check their facts before they go on the air and discuss a topic they know they're going to be talking about. Please don't pretend to your audience that there's no way to verify facts on Social Security. What you should be doing is making your viewers aware of where to get the information themselves, rather than telling them there's no way to get to the truth because of some conflicting talking points being pushed by the pundits and politicians who do not have Americans' best interest at heart.
Anyone that has done as many interviews and panel segments as you have who has put themselves out there as some sort of advocate for the working class in America should not be allowing the likes of Simpson to come on your show for some damage control and to pretend he's just looking out for the working class with his defunct deficit commission's recommendations.
