Representative Charles B. Rangel, a New York City Democrat who was among black members of Congress who met with Bush last week, said he is ''really offended" that the White House and some Republicans are trying to sell Bush's plan for private accounts on grounds that it would be more beneficial to African-Americans.
''It is one of the cruelest things that I have ever read, and I regret that it comes from the office of the president," Rangel said. If Bush wants to do something about inequities between the races, Rangel said, he should address issues including the lack of access to healthcare among many blacks, higher unemployment, and lower wages. Rangel added that unless blacks have better economic prospects, private Social Security accounts will not help them.
''I told the president, 'You can't get out what you can't put in,' " he said.
Whichever side is right, the controversy has put a spotlight on what some say has been missing in the national discussion over Social Security: Is the system filled with inequities that discriminate against certain demographic groups?
Second in a series of occasional articles examining the economic and political stakes involved in the Bush administration's proposed overhaul of Social Security.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/01/30/bush_argues_his_social_security_plan_aids_blacks/