Clinton's Plan Rises From the Dead...Sort Of

October 25, 1999

President Clinton last week sought to revive his long dormant Social Security "reform" plan. But don't look for it to go anywhere fast. The two central ideas of Clinton's plan -- general revenue transfers from taxpayers and government investment in the stock market - are political non-starters with members of both parties in Congress.

Just this week, a bipartisan group of senators wrote to Senate Leaders Lott and Daschle saying that Congress "should not agree to any proposal to transfer credits from general revenues (including additional 'interest' payments) to the Social Security Trust Fund in the absence of structural reform to reduce the program's actual unfunded liabilities."

And in March, the Senate approved by a vote of 99-0 a resolution disapproving of any government-directed investment in the market.

The Clinton Social Security proposal remains a bad idea whose time has not come.

2001 Index | 2000 Index | 1999 Index | 1998 Index