Quotable Quotes -- Reform Advocates

[Reform Advocates]  [Reform Opponents]

"We can either make tough choices today that deal honestly with the challenges facing Social Security or we can continue the "third rail" politics which leave a fiscal time bomb for our children and grandchildren. There are legitimate differences of opinion on the best way to reform Social Security but we all should be able to agree that the program needs to be fixed."
-- Remarks by Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) at a February 11 press briefing for the introduction of the Bipartisan Retirement Security Act

"If we do not address the financial challenges facing Social Security, future Congresses will be forced to cut other important government programs, raise additional taxes or issue massive amounts of new debt to meet the obligations to our senior citizens."
-- Remarks by Rep. Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) at a February 11 press briefing for the introduction of the Bipartisan Retirement Security Act

"Social Security [is] not something that's going to bite us in the next 10 years, but it is something that's going to begin to bite in the longer term. I'm glad to know that a lot of people are talking about it, because this administration is keenly focused on it. We'd like to talk about it, because we need to get those long-term entitlements under control."
-- OMB director Joshua Bolton discusses the 2005 budget, February 2, 2004

"I would never touch a penny of the funds that a senior citizen needs. But if that senior citizen has a grandson or a granddaughter who would like to voluntarily put a small portion of their payroll tax into a diversified account-it could be even super safe inflation-adjusted government bonds-then that funding is going to become much more productive than the same amount of money left where it is now. So this is one way, by increasing the return on the investment, that we can address a really impending problem with Social Security."
-- Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) January 20 preview of the State of the Union Speech

"Younger workers should have the opportunity to build a nest egg by saving part of their Social Security taxes in a personal retirement account. We should make the Social Security system a source of ownership for the American people."
-- George W. Bush at the annual State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004

"[I am] delighted to see confirmation that the president will again be taking up the banner of Social Security reform. This is one of the most important domestic issues facing Americans, and I commend President Bush for having the courage to tackle it."
-- Michael Tanner, director of the Cato Institute Project on Social Security Choice, in response to President Bush's push for Social Security reform in the annual State of the Union Address

"The president clearly understands the importance of giving workers ownership and control over their Social Security taxes. The American people understand the need for Social Security reform and will respond to the president's call for action."
-- Michael Tanner, director of the Cato Institute Project on Social Security Choice, in response to President Bush's push for Social Security reform in the annual State of the Union Address

"Personal accounts for younger generations could help most workers receive much higher total retirement benefits than are presently payable. The accounts, which allow more personal choice and control, would be inheritable in many of these proposals. They also would raise the private savings rate."
-- Deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration James C. Lockhart as he testified before the Social Security Subcommittee hearing in Boca Raton, Florida

"A more honest plan is being issued Tuesday by the libertarian Cato Institute . . . They would allow workers to get tradable bonds equal to a portion of their current stakes in Social Security to start their individual accounts. And they would devote the 6.2 percent employee share of the payroll tax to those accounts in the future. But in return, younger workers would have to accept a reduction in guaranteed future benefits."
-- Columnist Allan Murray in the January 19 Wall Street Journal article, "Bush's Big Speech to Set Lofty Goals at Bargain Prices"

"I applaud the President for his commitment to guaranteeing benefits for all seniors and allowing younger workers to save and own a part of their Social Security taxes. Helping Americans increase their personal savings as part of Social Security is a big part of the President's effort to transform America into an ownership society. For many low- and middle-income Americans who struggle just to meet their monthly bills, being able to save their Social Security taxes will be the only real way for them to build wealth and participate in the American Dream."
-- Rep. Jim DeMint (R-SC), recognizing President Bush's State of the Union Social Security push in a press release dated January 20, 2004

"[Bush] thinks the public is ready for reform . . . There are some who don't want to talk about this during the election. But my political opinion is that it's going to be an issue no matter what."
-- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Los Angeles Times writer Janet Hook in "GOP Divided over Pushing Reform of Social Security"

"The [SSA's] scoring reveals that large personal accounts would achieve permanent solvency for Social Security, without benefit cuts or tax increases, with manageable transition financing burdens."
-- Peter Ferrara, author of "A Progressive Proposal for Social Security Private Accounts," in a December 1, 2003 press release

"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."
-- John J. Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, quoted by Edwin Chen, writer for the Los Angeles Times, in "Bush Now Directing Attention to Revamping Social Security."

"Social Security reform gives us an opportunity to get rid of some of the outdated subsidies that exist in Social Security, and the one I would point to is spousal benefits, where we subsidize non-workers, which turns out to be a very regressive windfall for a number of people who do not work. I think reform is a great chance to sort of shed some light on the subsidies that exist and question whether they're still appropriate in the modern workforce, and this is one that may not be."
-- Executive director of Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Maya MacGuineas at the December 10 Brookings Institution event, "Saving Social Security: Which way to reform?"

"I do think [accounts] can play a crucial role, and actually have to play a crucial role, in providing a way to pre-fund the system; thereby, increasing saving, strengthening the economy and lowering the burden of meeting retirement obligations in the future without relying on trust funds."
-- Executive director of Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Maya MacGuineas at the December 10 Brookings Institution event, "Saving Social Security: Which way to reform?"

"I continue to think today that such an approach of greater fiscal responsibility today and pre-funding of Social Security through accounts would lead to a far fairer and more economically beneficial system."
-- Executive Director of Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Maya MacGuineas at the December 10 Brookings Institution event, "Saving Social Security: Which way to reform?"