LA Times Says Bush Will Campaign for Social Security Reform
December 11, 2003
Edwin Chen, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, regards Bush's commitment
and political faith in individual accounts as factors that will contribute to a reelection
bid and, eventually, reform legislation in 2005. In "Bush Now Directing Attention to
Revamping Social Security," Chen writes: "President Bush is completing plans to
campaign next year for a restructuring of Social Security, a potentially divisive drive that
he believes is 'a winning issue' for Republicans—and for his own legacy."
"Bush's goal of allowing workers to divert some of those payroll taxes into private
investment accounts faces even more political obstacles than the just-passed Medicare
legislation.
"But Bush may enjoy advantages over predecessors who tried to revamp Social
Security … The sense of anxiety over Social Security is mounting as the day of the
program's inability to pay promised benefits—now estimated to occur in [2042]—draws
closer.
"'Politically, the safest course would be to say nothing about it; historically, Social
Security has been a Democratic issue,' said John J. Pitney, a professor of government at
Claremont McKenna College. 'But on the other hand, hard-core opposition to Social
Security reform has receded, if only because the day of reckoning is getting closer, and
most people in their 40s and 50s realize that some kind of change is necessary.'
"When he ran for the White House, Bush embraced an overhaul of Social Security
as a central plank of his campaign. A few months after taking office, he named a
bipartisan 16-member commission to recommend ways to preserve the program.
"[Bush] often tells listeners, especially at Republican fund-raising events like
those in Nevada and Arizona last week, that he does not intend to pass the buck on
challenging tasks. 'I came to this office to solve problems, instead of passing them on to
future presidents and future generations,' Bush told supporters at the Venetian Hotel
and Casino in Las Vegas.
"At the White House, where senior aides have been working to complete Bush's
2004 agenda, deputy communications director Suzy DeFrancis said that 'it shouldn't
surprise anyone' when the president begins promoting changes in Social Security in the
coming months.
"There is no dispute that, without major intervention, Social Security is headed
for insolvency. The annual cost of its benefits represents about 4.4 percent of the gross
domestic product. But because America is an aging nation, that is projected to rise to 7
percent of the GDP by 2077 … Given the number of baby boomers—those born between
1946 and 1964—the payroll tax would need to be 18 percent or more if retirees are to
continue receiving the same benefits, unless new ways are found to finance the program.
"When Bush established the Social Security commission in May 2001, he laid out
six 'guiding principles' that included no changes for retirees or near-retirees regardless
of the commission's recommendations; no increase in the payroll tax; and the creation
of individually controlled, voluntary personal retirement accounts, which dovetails with
the president's vision of an 'ownership society.'
"Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who campaigned on Social Security reform
when he ran for the Senate, is circulating a letter on Capitol Hill beseeching fellow
lawmakers to avoid using 'white-hot rhetoric' against those 'who discuss reform options
openly and honestly.'
"'Social Security has often been used as a weapon to achieve short-term political
goals,' Graham said. 'Indeed, both parties seemingly compete to outbid each other in
ruling out options for restoring the fiscal health of Social Security. It is time for the
demagoguery to stop.'
"Such rhetoric is unlikely to deter Bush, said Pitney of Claremont McKenna
College … This is something he thinks about when he considers his legacy.'"
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