Bush launches PR campaign to change Social Security

[papau]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-11-bush-social-security_x.htm

Bush launches PR campaign to change Social Security ("before it goes "flat bust.")
By Richard Benedetto and Judy Keen, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — <snip>Rep. Sandy Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees the program, said his party will prevent Bush "from wrecking that bedrock of income security protection."

"I know this is an issue that some would rather not be talking about," Bush said, because of the political risks for members of Congress. But "if we don't address the problem now, it will only get worse," he said.

If nothing is done, the president said, "You're either going to have to raise the taxes of people, or reduce the benefits. And the longer you wait, the more severe the pain is going to be." He has ruled out raising payroll taxes.

He said Social Security, swelled by the surge of baby boomers who will start collecting benefits in a few years, will be paying out more money than it takes in by 2018. Bush said the program will be "bankrupt" by 2042. The Congressional Budget Office says that by 2052, Social Security will be taking in enough money to pay just 75%-80% of scheduled benefits.<snip>

Democrats say Bush is exaggerating the problem. "Social Security faces a challenge, not a crisis, and diverting over 2 trillion bucks to private accounts ... doesn't address the Social Security challenge 40 to 50 years from now and, indeed, it would really make it worse," Levin said.<snip>

Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who is president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said Bush's use of the words "bust" and "bankruptcy" troubled her. "The fact is, we have a surplus until 2018," she said. "This is not just another campaign event where the president can be long on rhetoric and short on details. ... What we are really talking about here is shredding the social safety net."
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