A private Iowa advocacy group says Social Security is too important to Iowans to be changed. David Osterberg, the director of the Iowa Policy Project in Mount Vernon, says “We’ve gone through and just documented all the stuff that we’ve presented and said ‘How big is Social Security in Iowa’, and we find it’s very large. And we also find that without Social Security about 50-percent of retired people would be in poverty. Because of Social Security, it’s only seven percent.” Osterberg says they’re trying counter the idea that the system needs to change. He says they’re trying to show the risks. “The kind of changes that’re being talked about will change the system to something else.” He says they’re trying to show the system is very important to the State of Iowa. Osterberg says changing the system to let people invest part of their Social Security money in private accounts is one of the big risks. He says, “I think private accounts are very dangerous. Because of the way that you would transition into them. And because right now no-one knows exactly what the system is going to be. We have a system that has worked very well in the past.” Osterberg says there’s debate over how long Social Security will be solvent — with some saying 2042 and some saying 2052. Either way, Osterberg says it’s not a crisis situation. He says, “When you think about how long range we are, when are we going to get out of Iraq? I mean, if, if we’re thinking about things that far into the future, then there are many other things that are a lot more important that come to us very much sooner than the year 2042.”Osterberg says you can view his organization’s research on Social Security at: www.iowapolicyproject.org.