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Bush pushes social security for future's poor
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-29 09:30 US President Bush urged Congress on Thursday night
to tilt the Social Security system to benefit low-income retirees of the future
as part of a plan to shore up the program's finances.
At a prime time news conference, Bush said he envisioned
a plan under which all future retirees could "count on a benefit equal to or
higher than today's seniors," a formula that left open the possibility that
guaranteed benefits for middle and upper income seniors could be cut in later
years to bring Social Security's finances into balance.
![President Bush gestures during a news conference Thursday, April 28, 2005, in the East Room. [AP]](xin_2104022909366711137432.jpg)
President Bush
gestures during a news conference Thursday, April 28, 2005, in the East
Room. [AP] |
Republicans officials had said in advance that the president would prod
lawmakers to embrace a plan that would curtail benefits for middle and upper
income retirees of the future, but he did not directly address the issue in
opening remarks.
Facing reporters in the East Room of the White House, Bush also pledged his
effort to address rising energy costs. "There will be no price gouging at gas
pumps in America," he said. The House has approved energy legislation, and a
companion measure is awaiting action in the Senate. Bush said he wanted a bill
on his desk by summer.
Bush also urged the Senate to take "up or down" votes on his controversial
nominees to the appeals courts. Democrats filibustered 10 of his first-term
appeals court nominees, blocking confirmation votes on them. Bush has
renominated seven of the 10, and Democrats have threatened to attempt to block
them once more.
Nearing the end of a 60-day campaign for Social Security overhaul, Bush
renewed his call for Congress to pass Social Security legislation that allows
younger workers to create personal accounts with a portion of their payroll
taxes.
"The money from a voluntary personal retirement personal account would
supplement the check one receives from Social Security," he said.
White House officials have repeatedly told congressional officials that
Bush's plan envisions cuts in future guaranteed benefits as part of an attempt
to achieve permanent financial solvency. Bush made no mention of that in his
opening remarks.
Bush did not go into details in his proposals for Social Security, an attempt
to satisfy calls from Republicans in Congress to provide lawmakers with guidance
without appearing to dictate to them.
His call for Social Security legislation has faced intense debate in
Congress, where Democrats criticize his proposal for personal accounts as
privatization of a program that provides benefit checks to millions each month.
Republicans in both houses are skittish about embracing the idea, and despite
Bush's energetic nationwide campaigning polls indicate lagging public support.
Sen. Charles Grassley (news, bio, voting record), R-Iowa, chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee, who presided over one hearing on the issue this week,
intends to call a second session next month and try to push a bill through the
panel by the end of July.
Bush has referred positively before to a proposal by a private economist to
alter the benefit structure to make it more favorable to lower-income recipients
at the same time enabling the overall program to remain solvent into the
indefinite future.
"There are some interesting ideas out there," Bush said at a news conference
in March. "One of the interesting ideas was by this fellow by the — a Democrat
economist named of Pozen. He came to visit the White House. He didn't see me,
but came and tossed some interesting ideas out, talking about making sure the
system was progressive."
Robert Pozen, a Democrat and former economic adviser to GOP Gov. Mitt Romney
of Massachusetts who now is with MFS Investment Management, has suggested that
Social Security no longer tie retiree benefit payments solely to wages. Instead,
he has suggested pegging future benefits for some retirees to prices, which
historically rise more slowly than wages.
Pozen suggested retaining the current benefit structure for workers retiring
in 2012 and later with career earnings of $25,000 or less. Workers retiring the
same year or later with earnings of $113,000 or more would receive benefits
pegged to prices, meaning they would be lower than currently guaranteed. The
benefit system would be a blend of the two approaches for workers with income
between $25,000 and $113,000.
It is unlikely that Congress will enact Pozen's proposal intact, but Bush's
remarks indicated renewed interest in an approach that prominent Republicans in
Congress have also found attractive.
According to the most recent estimates, Social Security benefit payments will
outstrip payroll tax payments into the trust fund in 2017, and beginning in
2041, the trust fund will be depleted. At that point, benefits would
automatically be cut.
White House officials said Bush would talk about energy as well as Social
Security in his opening remarks.
While the president opened his second term boasting he had political capital
to spend, he's now on the defensive on a range of issues. His job approval has
slumped since his second-term inauguration; a majority of people oppose his
approach to Social Security and more than 60 percent of Americans disapprove of
his handling of energy problems amid skyrocketing gasoline prices.
It was only the fourth prime-time news conference of his presidency, and the
White House asked television networks to broadcast it live — a request that some
found hard to swallow. Thursday was the first night of the May ratings "sweeps,"
a barometer watched closely to set advertising prices. It also tends to be one
of the most lucrative nights for the networks in terms of advertising revenue.
On energy, Bush was expected to push Congress to pass his long-stalled energy
plan. Soaring oil and gasoline prices are beginning to take a toll on U.S.
economic growth. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the economy grew
at an annual rate of just 3.1 percent in the first three months of the year, the
slowest pace in two years.
Bush's appearance preceded Sunday's close of a 60-day blitz by the
administration to build support for overhauling Social Security. The White House
pronounced the first phase a success because it convinced Americans there are
serious problems facing the program.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush's cross-country sales
job has been "a dismal failure."
"What I'm hoping" is that he will say "Uncle" about his privatization plan,
she said. The White House shot back that Democrats are behaving as the
do-nothing party with no ideas to offer.
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