But the way SS benefits are currently indexed, even your cut benefits will be higher, in constant dollars, than what current SS recipients get now.

Keep hanging your stockings by the fireplace at Christmas

…I will be 62 in 2042, the exact year the Social Security Administration forecasts that the system’s trust fund will run out of money, and benefits will be cut to match cash flow from tax payments, unless a fix is made earlier.”

- Washington Post

Why fix it if it ain’t broke?

The irony here is that the people who propose not fulfilling the promise justify it by saying that the promise was always a lie.

And Monkyboy, we all know you disagree with Will’s position on Social Security (and a lot of other stuff). But surely you can admit that if anyone will get screwed by reforming Social Security, it’s probably not the children — they’re the ones getting screwed *right now*, because they’re paying (or will be paying) large amounts of taxes to pay for the retirement of the disproportionately large Baby Boom generation. So if you’re going to bag on SS reform, at least get your winners and losers straight.

Key Recommendations:

“Personalization” not “privatization”: Personalization suggests increased personal
ownership and control. Privatization connotes the total corporate takeover of Social Security; this is inaccurate and thoroughly turns off listeners, who are very concerned about corporate wrongdoing.

Talk in simple language: Your audience doesn’t understand financial jargon. Phrases such
as “cash flow deficits” and “actuarial imbalance” don’t normally crop up in conversation;
avoid using them.

Keep the numbers small: Your audience doesn’t know how trillions and billions differ.
They know these numbers are large, but not how large nor how many billions make a trillion.
Boil numbers down to “your family’s share.” Also avoid percentages; your audience will try
to calculate them in their head, no easy task while listening to a speech, and many will do
it incorrectly.

Acknowledge risks: Many of your listeners will not have a lot of financial education or
investment experience, but they know that markets have risk and nothing is guaranteed.
They believe investments can grow over time, but they also know they can lose their
investments. They don’t trust someone who tells them differently.

Say it the way they can hear it: Your audience will reject some turns of phrase because of
the connotations and associations. The responses are not universal, but they are much less
personal than you might imagine.

In other words, tell the morons, in simple language, why it’s in their interest to screw their children…