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President Bush on Social Security Reform
January 23rd 05:49:24 PM
President Bush spoke about Social Security reform today. He said that he brought up last year, and he's going to bring it up this year, and next year, and the next year. Read his full remarks... If I were you, I'd pay attention to the issue. And the reason why is because there's a lot of us getting ready to retire. There's a baby boomer
bulge. I was born in '46, on the leading edge of what we call the baby
boomers, and there's a lot of us getting ready to retire, which means you
are going to have to pay for a lot more people in the system, plus we've
been promised greater benefits than the previous generation. So the system
is going to go broke unless we do something about it.
Last year I talked about doing something about it, and the Congress didn't
do anything about it. So this year I'm going to talk about doing something
about it, and the next year something about it, and the next year
something about it. I have a duty to confront problems and not hope, you
know, just kind of shuffle them along. And so this is a big issue; both
Medicare and Social Security are big issues. They're big issues for
long-term deficits, and they're big issues for the individuals who are
going to be having to pay in the system for people like me. And the fix
isn't all that hard.
What is first required is people setting aside needless politics in
Washington, D.C. and saying, why don't we come together and get something
done for the sake of a future generation. (Applause.) And we can make sure
that this generation -- that the up-and-coming generation -- see, nothing
changes if you're over 55. It's the young people paying into a broke
system. By the way, they call it a Social Security trust, there's no
"trust." The money is paid and it's spent on other programs, and all
that's left in the Social Security is an IOU. And so it seems like to me
that it's really important to kind of lay out all the facts on the table
for people to determine whether or not there's a problem or not. And once
they see a problem, then they ought to be calling on people on the phone,
their elected representatives, saying, do something about it.
And I believe we can fix this problem by slowing down the rate of growth
of benefits, not cutting benefits. Benefits will increase. But the
promises have been just too great, and we need to be frank about it. We
need to be open about it to make sure that we save the Social Security
system for our younger generation.
I also happen to believe we have a fantastic opportunity to promote
ownership in America. I believe younger workers ought to be able to take
some of their own money and set it aside in a personal savings account.
(Applause.) And the reason I believe that is I think if you own an asset,
it helps provide stability in American society. I'm concerned that -- I'm
concerned at the low rate of return people get on their money through the
Social Security -- you know, supposed Social Security trust. I know the
power of compounding rate of interest. For those of you studying in
economics, look it up. It says money grows exponentially over time. And if
you put your money in just a safe series of instruments, it will grow. If
you start saving at age 20, it grows quite dramatically over time, and
then that's your nest egg. It's what you call -- it's a part of a Social
Security benefit system. Again, those of us who retire -- and I'm not
talking about you, I'm talking about younger workers being given an
option.
I'm also concerned about people in our society who've never owned
anything. You know, I'm worried about -- and I know that if you own -- can
you imagine a single mom working and able to put some of the money aside
for herself if she wants, and watch that grow with just safe investments
over time, and when she retires, she's got a nest egg that she calls her
own, that government can't spend on another program, a nest egg that she
can pass on to her loved one.
I mean, ownership and the ability to pass wealth from one generation to
the next is an important part of busting the cycle of poverty, for
example. And so this is a great opportunity to think differently about
this very important program. And I appreciate you bringing it up, and
thanks for being concerned about it. You need to be.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf
Comments
But, will anyone listen???
Posted by Cahnman on January 23rd 08:57:32 PM
Re: Cahnman, "But, will anyone listen?"
No, they will not. At least, not until we all get the words "trust fund" out of our vocabulary when discussing SS and Medicare!
Posted by Roy V. Dent on January 27th 04:48:32 PM
Good Point Roy. At this point, however, I feel it's pointless to continue screaming into the wind about Social Security. It's not the the public ain't buying it, it's that the public isn't listening.
When it comes to structural economic reforms, it's time to pivot and focus on Health Care. Health Care costs are rising at almost triple the rate of inflation, and there are some simple steps that Congress can take in the next few months to move the process along:
1) Nationalize the Market for Health Insurance -- Currently, we have 50 different state markets for Health Insurance, with 50 different regulatory schemes. In many states, this leads to frivilous legislative mandates (eg. mandating OB/GYN coverage for men or Urology coverage for women). If anything falls under Congress' authority under the interstate commerce clause, it's portable Health Insurance.
2) Moving from Paper to Electronic Records -- Can anyone explain to me why, in the 21st century, every doctors office has 2-3 people who do nothing besides pushing papers? What is this, the government?
3) Tax credits for the Uninsured who pay medical costs out of pocket -- Why should people who get coverage from their employer use pre-tax income while people who don't get employer coverage have to use after-tax income? This can be modeled after the Earned Income Tax Credit. Another benefit is that this should substantially reduce the medicaid rolls.
This is the non-controversial low hanging fruit of Health-Care Reform. These three simple steps will go a long way towards mitigating the current "crisis" in Health Care. A lot more needs to be done to fix the system, but this would be a strong start.
The point is, once we take care of these three elements, we can then return our focus to Social Security.
Posted by Cahnman on January 28th 01:42:48 PM
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