Work 18 Months,Get Social Security...If You're Hispanic!

Early in President Bush’s second term he announced that he was prepared to spend “political capital” on an effort to revamp America’s Social Security system. The administration’s plan, in many people’s view, may have been seriously flawed, but no one disputes that the system is in real trouble. The Social Security system owes current retirees and workers an estimated $14 trillion, but has assets of only about $3.5 trillion.

As if $10.5 trillion wasn’t a big enough shortfall, the Bush Administration has decided to follow through on a “totalization” agreement with Mexico, which would allow citizens of that country, including illegal aliens, to collect U.S. Social Security benefits, based on having worked in this country for as little as 18 months! (American workers, by contrast, must have worked and paid into the Social Security system for a total of 10 years over their lifetimes in order to be eligible for retirement benefits.) This totalization agreement will take effect automatically unless the House of Representatives or the Senate adopts a resolution of disapproval within 60 legislative days after the President signs it — which he has not yet done.

The United States has totalization agreements with other countries in order to prevent retirees from being taxed twice on the same retirement income. None of the other agreements involves a country with a retirement program that is so different from ours, or covering as many workers as the one with Mexico would. Moreover, in addition to the millions of Mexicans who have worked in this country legally and illegally, countless millions more could easily defraud the program. It would be a virtual impossibility to prove or disprove claims based on contributions to fraudulent Social Security accounts. Rather than collapse the system in 20 or 30 years, as most economist project, the totalization agreement with Mexico could bankrupt the system even earlier.

FAIR believes that the totalization agreement could present one of the first big tests of the new Congress’ commitment to representing the interests of ordinary working Americans. Preserving the Social Security system and securing benefits for all Americans who have paid into the program has been a longstanding cornerstone of the Democrats’ domestic policy.

FAIR is working to educate Congress and the American public about this perilous agreement in an effort to kill it. A helpful step was taken by Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) who introduced a bill (S.43) in January to require that any Totalization agreement receive approval from both houses of Congress before it could become law. We strongly urge FAIR members who are also members of other organizations, especially AARP, to demand that they actively oppose adoption of the totalization agreement with Mexico. As the largest voluntary membership organization in the country, it is critical that AARP lend its considerable voice to the effort to prevent implementation of an agreement that would devastate current as well as future American retirees.

What is your take on this information? I personally think it's incredible that our own government would require it's own citizens to work for at least ten years to qualify for social security, let they would allow someone from Mexico to get social security for having only worked 18 months. What's next...giving them free housing!?