Breaking News:

Social Security has helped a lot of people, but will self destruct unless it is reformed.

The system is hardest on working families, placing a flat tax of 15.2 percent (FICA) on them.

FICA is 49 percent in France and Germany. Birth/death rates in the U.S. will send our FICA in the same direction unless reform happens.

Our system has $13.4 trillion in unfunded liability and cash flow will begin to run negatively in 11 years.

The Social Security checks of anyone at or near retirement could be in jeopardy unless reform happens.

Current surpluses from the system are taken by Congress and used for everything but retirement security (The Raid).

What’s the solution? 

Give all American workers the same opportunity to save their Social Security contributions that Federal Employees have in the Federal Thrift Savings Plan. 

The Social Security checks of anyone at or near retirement could be in jeopardy unless reform happens.  Senator John McCain says if he is elected president he will insist that Congress renege on the government’s promise to workers and cut future Social Security benefits.  Senator Barack Obama says he wants to raise payroll taxes on current workers if he is elected, which will only perpetuate the raid on Social Security without solving the problem.

President Bill Clinton got it right on the dilemma we face with Social Security when he acknowledged that the program is unsustainable.  He observed that if we don’t want to cut benefits, raise taxes or increase the retirement age—which he rejected as reasonable options—then we must increase the rate of return on the payroll tax contributions workers pay into the program every payday.

The USA would move from one of the world's lowest savings rates to one of the highest.

This real capital would add trillions to our economy.

Families would inherit millions, helping solve the health care crisis, the pension crisis and give the poor a piece of the American Dream.

The Social Security system would be debt-free in 50 years.

The transition would be covered by eliminating budget pork and earmarks and Stopping the Raid.

So how do we get Congress to stop playing politics with our retirement money?

Politicians respond to fear - fear of losing elections, fear of losing the support of interest groups, or worse, turning a group against them. Stop the Raid is determined to mobilize and educate voters around the country.

Solution-GET ORGANIZED -- TAKE ACTION

• Become highly educated and organize behind Social Security Reform.
• Stop the Raid is:
• Creating state, city and congressional district committees.
• Launching a Stop the Raid initiative in your state.
• Requiring politicians to pledge to Stop the Raid on Social Security and register some percentage of FICA funds in individual names with real assets, which may be inherited.

The Social Security Institute aims to educate the public about the financial and demographic problems with Social Security and to dissiminate information and research on how the program can be reformed and those problems can be corrected.