Bush urges Social Security reform
White House seeks support for switch to private accounts
WASHINGTON - President Bush Thursday outlined an ambitious second-term economic agenda topped by a plan to put Social Security on stronger financial footing and give workers the chance to invest some of their payroll taxes into personal accounts.
“Now is the time to confront Social Security,” Bush said before concluding a two-day White House economic conference that also focused on plans to reforming the federal tax code, making his major tax cuts permanent and cut the budget deficit in half.
Although Bush did not make any specific proposals, he reiterated his support for a program that would give workers the option to divert their payroll taxes into private accounts that would reduce their guaranteed government retirement benefits.
Democrats and a host of interest groups have mobilized to fight the plan and protect the traditional retirement system.
“The first issue is to explain to Congress and the American people the size of the problem,” Bush said at the White House meeting. “We will send a message not only to the American people that we’re here for the right reason, but we’ll send a message to the financial markets that we recognize we have an issue with both short-term deficits and the long-term deficits of unfunded liabilities to the entitlement programs.”
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