PRESIDENT GERALD R. FORD - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/28/1967 - HFSID 88392

GERALD R. FORD
The Congressman is against raising social security taxes.
Typed Letter Signed: "Jerry Ford" as House Minority Leader, 1p, 8x10½. Washington, D.C., 1967 February 28. To Miss Judy Covell, Cedar Springs, Michigan. In full: "I have your letter of February 20th and can understand your concern over the possible raise in social security taxes. As you know Republicans in the Congress are proposing an 8% increase in social security benefits primarily because this amount can be provided without increasing social security taxes. If we go much higher than this it will mean higher taxes on all those who work as well as on their employers. The social security tax is a regressive tax in that it grants a greater burden for lower income groups. They pay a higher percentage of income as tax than do those in the higher income brackets. The Committee on Ways and Means opens its hearings on Wednesday, March 1st, on the overall problem of social security, and for this reason I was especially pleased to have your views and comments." Five years later, Congress introduced an automatic indexing plan that raised social security benefits each year to reflect increases in the cost of living. Social Security remains an issue today in 2000. Experts say that benefit cuts or tax reductions for Social Security will be needed to pay for the baby boom generation, which begins retiring in a decade. Ford, who had become Minority Leader in 1965, no longer served on any House committees, but he was responsible for proposing Republican alternatives to President Johnson's foreign and domestic policies. Lightly creased, staple holes in upper corners and lightly creased there. Fine condition.