A4
Politics & The Nation BY LORIMONTGOMERY ARepublicanplantoreininthe
rising cost of Social Security would dramatically reduce retire- ment benefits formiddle- and up- per-income Americans, especially those now younger than 25, ac- cording to an analysis released Wednesday by the program’s chief actuary. The plan, by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.),wouldreducebenefitsby
EZ SU
KLMNO
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010 GOP Social Security plan would cut benefits for higher earners
gradually raising the retirement age and gradually trimming bene- fits for the top 70 percent of earn- ers.
Together, the two provisions
would slice initial benefits by about a quarter for middle-in- come Americans who turn 65 in 2050, according to the analysis. Wealthier retireeswould see even deeper cuts, losingaboutathirdof scheduled benefits in 2050 and more thanhalf of scheduled bene- fits if they turn65 in2080.
With congressional elections
less than two weeks away, the Ryan plan has been a frequent target forDemocrats accusing the GOPofplotting to gutSocialSecu- rity. But the report by Stephen Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration, also ex- amines other ideas for overhaul- ingtheprogram, includingseveral under discussion by a bipartisan deficit-reduction commission ap- pointed by President Obama. Leaders in both parties say Social
Securitymay present the best op- portunity for compromise on the commission,which is due to issue a reportDec. 1. Goss’sanalysisshowsthat those
ideasmay not bemuchmore pal- atable thanRyan’splan.For exam- ple, allowingthe retirement age to continue rising two months per year until it hits age 70 would cut initial benefits by nearly 20 per- cent for anyone turning 65 in 2050.Meanwhile, the commission istalkingabout trimmingthecost-
of-living increase retirees receive each year, as well as cutting their initial benefits. “There’s been a lot of discussion
about how easy it would be to cut Social Security in order to save it,” said Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), who requested the report as chair- man of theHouseWays andMeans subcommittee on Social Security. “Thenewanalysisrevealsthat these proposals result in benefits cuts ranging from10 percent to as high as50percent. . . .That’snotwhat I’d
call ‘saving’SocialSecurity.” Ryan spokesman Conor
SweeneysaidGossdidnotanalyze the full effect of Ryan’s plan to balance the federal budget and ignored Ryan’s proposal to guar- antee a higher minimum benefit to low-income retirees. More to the point, Sweeney said, failing to overhaul Social Security — which is already paying outmore than it collects from payroll taxes — will causemore immediateharm. “According to the Social Securi-
THEWAY FORWARD
ty Administration, Congressman Pomeroy’s do-nothing plan will impose painful, across-the-board benefit cuts on current seniors and those nearing retirement,” Sweeney said. “It is deeply irre- sponsible for elected leaders to stand idlewith icy indifference as the social safetynet collapses.”
montgomeryl@washpost.com
Benefit changes
A Republican plan to raise the retirement age would cut initial benefits by 8.2 percent. Letting the retirement age rise more quickly to age 70 would cut those same benefits by nearly 20 percent.
Monthly benefits for a worker retiring at age 65 in the year 2050
For a person earning a mid-range salary ($43,084 for 2010)*
1,200 $1,500
300 600 900
0 Current GOP plan Age 70 benefits level
*Wages indexed to 2010 dollars. SOURCE: Social Security Administration
THE WASHINGTON POST
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Texas court clears inmate freed after DNA test
BY JUAN A. LOZANO
houston—Texas’shighest crim- inal court formally ruledWednes- day that a Houston man who spent 27 years in prison for a rape he did not commit is innocent. In its brief opinion, the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals agreed withalower court’s recommenda- tion that Michael Anthony Green’s conviction be set aside. “After reading it, I almost cried.
Iwas so happy,”Green said. Green, 44, was released from
prison in July after the Harris County District Attorney’s Office reopened his case and new DNA tests it commissioned showed he did not commit the 1983 rape of a woman who had been abducted. Green was freed on a $500 bond while he waited for the ruling on his innocence. He said that, after being re-
leased, he had tried not to think about when the decision might come. But each week, he said, he kept telling himself, “Let it be this one; let it be this one.” Greennowworksasaparalegal
for his attorney, Bob Wicoff, and he learned about the rulingwhen he came into the office Wednes- day. A copy of the opinion was taped to the back of a chair, the first thing Green sees when he walks intoWicoff ’s office. Wednesday’s ruling allows
Green to apply for compensation fromthe state for beingwrongful- ly imprisoned, Wicoff said. State law provides $80,000 for every year a person iswrongfully incar- cerated,makingGreeneligible for more than $2million. Wicoff said Green plans to ap-
ply for a pardon based on inno- cence fromGov.Rick Perry (R). In 1983, four men abducted a
woman from a pay telephone in north Houston and took her to a remote location where three of them raped her. The men drove off, leaving thewoman there, and were later chased by police. The menabandonedtheir car andfled on foot. Police detained Green that night as he walked in the area. The victim could not identify
Green in person but later picked him from a photo lineup. He was convictedof aggravatedsexual as- sault and sentenced to 75 years. Hewas 18whenheenteredprison. Authoritieswere able to identi-
Some restrictions and requirements may apply. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Equal Opportunity Lender. © 2010 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved.
fy the fourmenwho abducted the women.Butbecause the statuteof limitations on the rape has run out, they cannot be prosecuted. —Associated Press
$1,249 1,147 1,009
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