Text 419, 890 rader
Skriven 2005-02-04 23:33:26 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050204d) for Fri, 2005 Feb 4
===================================================
===========================================================================
President Discusses Strengthening Social Security in Florida
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 4, 2005

President Discusses Strengthening Social Security in Florida
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, Florida


4:07 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead and sit down, please. Thanks for the warm welcome.
It's good to be back in Florida. (Applause.) I'm looking for my little
brother, but he didn't show. (Laughter.) It's okay, I love him anyway.
Plus, he's doing a great job as the Governor. (Applause.)

Thanks for coming today. This is my fifth stop after the State of the Union
address to talk about important issue for our country. (Applause.) As you
can see, I'm joined by some distinguished citizens who are going to share
some of their thoughts about the Social Security system. That's what we're
here to talk about. But before we get there, I do want to recognize some
folks, and I've got some other things to say, as well.

First, I am really proud to have been met at the airport and have traveled
over with two members of the Congress, starting first with United States
Senator Mel Martinez. (Applause.) Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite -- thank
you for coming, Ginny Brown. (Applause.) Congressman Adam Putnam.
(Applause.) The Lt. Governor came, for which I am grateful -- Toni
Jennings. Thanks for being here. (Applause.)

Margaret Goodson is with us today. Margaret, please stand up. I met
Margaret at the base of Air Force One. (Applause.) Margaret is a volunteer
for Meals on Wheels. (Applause.) The reason I like to herald volunteers is,
one, to encourage people to volunteer, but as well, to remind our fellow
citizens our true strength, the great strength of America, is the hearts
and souls of our citizens, the fact that people like Margaret are willing
to help somebody out -- somebody, in this case, who's hungry.

If you're interested in serving the country, find somebody who is looking
for shelter and help them find housing; love somebody who hurts; help
somebody get rid of an addiction. You see, that's what -- that's how you
change a society. And, Margaret, you're part of the army of compassion, and
I want to thank you for your service. (Applause.)

We're headed toward peace, and that's important. (Applause.) We're still at
war. I wish I could report to the nation during my State of the Nation, and
here in Florida, that the war is over. It's not; there's still an enemy
that cannot stand America, that still wants to inflict harm on our people,
precisely because we refuse to relent in our love for freedom. But we're
making good progress.

First, I want to thank the troops and their families for helping us --
(applause) -- for helping us stay on the offensive against the terrorists
and the haters. Every time a terrorist is brought to justice, our children
and grandchildren are safer. But, as well, every time a democracy is born
in a part of the world and around the world, our children and grandchildren
are safer, as well.

We've seen a remarkable, remarkable series of events when you think about
it. In a very brief period of time, Afghanistan became a democracy, people
were able to vote for a President of that country -- they tell me, for the
first time in 5,000 years. Millions of people showed up at the polls. The
first voter was a woman who was not allowed to participate in democracy
during the Taliban. (Applause.) And that's important for our children and
grandchildren. The fact that Afghanistan is free sets a powerful example in
a part of the world that is in need for powerful examples of a free
society.

The Ukraine elected a President in the last four months. The Palestinians
have elected a new leader who shows he's willing to stand up and fight off
the terror. And we're -- Condi Rice, by the way, is headed over there to
work with both Israel and Palestinians to -- (applause) -- help Palestine
develop a democracy.

If you're interested in true peace in the Middle East, like I am, I fully
understand that for there to be true peace, the Palestinian people must be
allowed to express themselves in the ballot box, give their opinions in the
public square. There must be a free press. In other words, there must be a
true democracy in order for there to be peace in the Middle East. We're
headed that way.

And finally, as you know, last Sunday the Iraqi citizens, in spite of
threats and violence and beheadings and all kinds of horrible acts, went to
the polls by millions. They defied the few acts of the terrorists.
(Applause.) Every time a society becomes a free society, our children and
grandchildren are better off, because free societies are peaceful
societies. Democracies promote peace, and that's what we're interested.

So I'm enthusiastic and optimistic about what is taking place in the world,
and I believe the United States has a duty and an obligation not only to
future generations of Americans, but to people who live in tyranny, to
promote democracy wherever tyranny exists. I believe every soul yearns to
be free; that's what I believe. I believe everybody desires to be free. The
Iraqi elections helped prove that point. The people did incredibly brave
things in order to express their will. It's because people love freedom and
if given the chance to be free, they accept freedom.

Our mission in Iraq is to continue to stand with the Iraqi government. We
will not put an artificial timetable of withdrawal out. That would be a --
(applause.) Such a decision would embolden an enemy. It would send the
wrong signal. Here's the game plan. The game plan is to stand with the
Iraqis, is to train them better, is to give them a chain of command, is to
work with their junior officers so that the Iraqi units -- which did very
well on election day -- have got what it takes to defend their own country.
You see, this new democracy, like any new democracy, is going to want to
defend itself. And as -- and people say, well, are you sure they want to
defend themselves? I say, absolutely. Look what they did on election day.
If they're willing to defy the terrorists by going to a ballot box, they're
willing to take the training necessary to defeat the terrorists where the
terrorists exist. And when Iraqis are ready to defend themselves, our
troops are coming home with the honor they've earned. (Applause.)

I don't know about you, but the hug between the mom from Pflugerville,
Texas whose son died on the battlefield and the woman whose dad had been --
Saddam Hussein had ordered her dad's assassination, human rights activist
inside of Iraq, who voted and flew over to represent her country in Laura's
box -- I thought the hug was about as profound a measure of compassion and
decency and respect and thanks that I've ever seen. It was a -- (applause.)

And for those of you who have got a loved one in the theater, or has a
loved one in the theater today, you got to know that the Iraqi people
appreciate our sacrifices. And I believe generations of Americans to come
will appreciate the fact that this generation not only stood strong in the
face of a Saddam Hussein, but stuck it out and helped the Iraqi people
develop a democracy. Democracies lead to peace. And we have a duty -- we
have a duty to help this world become more free so our children and
grandchildren can grow up in a peaceful world. (Applause.)

We have a duty to make sure there's a retirement system for our children,
too. And that's what I want to talk about. (Applause.) First of all, it's
pretty interesting we're talking about Social Security, isn't it? It used
to be called the third rail of American politics -- if you touched it, you
would be shocked. (Laughter.) Sometimes shocked out of politics.
(Laughter.) I campaigned on the issue because I thought it was important to
do so. I also believe the role of a President is to confront problems --
not to pass them on to a future President, future Congress, or a future
generation. (Applause.)

So the question you ask is, do we have a problem. Well, here it is. When
Social Security was designed, the life expectancy was about 60 years old.
In other words, you were expected to live that long. Today, life expectancy
is 77 years old. In other words, people are living longer.

Secondly, there is a group of folks fixing to retire -- a big bulge of us.
We're called the baby boomers. So not only are people living longer, but
there's a whole bunch of people who are going to be living longer that are
eligible for Social Security.

Thirdly, benefits are going up dramatically. So you've got a lot of people
living longer, getting greater -- with greater benefits promised. And what
this chart will show you here is that you got fewer people paying in. In
1950, 16 workers were paying to the system to support on beneficiary. That
obviously makes a system more affordable than one in which only 3.3 people
are paying per beneficiary. Fewer workers putting in money to pay for more
workers who are living longer and getting more benefits -- that is a
problem. And it's a problem defined by that chart which shows that in 2018,
the Social Security system goes negative, more money going out to
beneficiaries than coming in through payroll taxes. That's a fact. And
every year thereafter, the gap grows wider.

So, to give you an example, in 2027, the system will be $200 billion short.
In other words, they collect X amount of payroll taxes, but because baby
boomers like me are living longer and have been promised greater benefits,
we're $200 billion short that year -- that year. And the next year is
bigger than $200 billion. In 3037 [sic}, it's like $300 billion. And
finally in -- 2037, it's $300 billion. In 2042, it's bust. Those are the
facts.

So, I see a problem. And I think it's time to address it square on. That's
why I spent a great deal of time in the State of the Union. Now, this is
not a problem for people who have retired or near retired. This is not a
problem for people who are now on Social Security who were born before
1950. It is not a problem. I don't care what they tell you; I don't care
what the brochures say. The Social Security trust is sound and solvent for
people who are counting on the checks today and people are going to be
counting on the checks who are near retired. It's just the way it is.

The problem exists for younger folks. The problem is younger folks are
going to be coming up in a world where either you got to raise taxes
dramatically, borrow significant amounts of money, slash government
programs, slash benefits in order to make that red in that chart go away.
And that's the dilemma we have right now. That's the problem those of us
who are in Washington, D.C. must confront, because every year you wait, the
problem becomes worse for our kids.

I think now is the time to take on the issue. And that's exactly what I
intend to do. That's why I have been to five states since the State of the
Union, and that's why I'm going to continue traveling our country, saying
to the American people, here's the problem. We'll have somebody else
describe it, as well. And the reason I believe that's important to do is
because I think the American people actually have a lot to do with how
Congress responds. You may not think that, but having been up there long
enough to tell you how it works, you can make a difference in how people
respond.

Once people recognize there's a little bit of denial in Washington --
they'll say there's not a problem. There's a fair number of people who say,
it isn't a problem. If that's the prevailing view, nothing is going to
happen, I fully recognize that. So step one is to say, we have a problem.
And step two is to start coming up with a solution. And I have a
responsibility to be involved with that, as well. It's one thing for a
fellow to say, you've got a problem, you all go figure it out. That's not
my style. My style is to say, we've got a problem, and we're going to
figure it out. (Applause.)

All ideas are on the table except running up the payroll tax. And I don't
care whether it's a Democrat idea, Republican idea, independent idea, I'm
interested in ideas. And so I'm going to say, like I have been saying
before to the United States Congress, bring them up. Let's see what you
think we ought to do to solve the problem, and I'll work with you. This is
not one of these moments where we're trying to gain political advantage. I
think this has got to be a moment where people from both parties come
together and say, here is a problem. For generations -- it's not a problem
for just Republican youngsters, it's not a problem just for Democrat
youngsters. It's a problem for every youngster coming up in America. And
therefore, I want to work with members of the Congress. And so I said in my
speech the other day, other people have had some good ideas; they're on the
table. And if you want to lay one out, I promise you there won't be
political retribution for having done so.

Now, I've got some of my own ideas. And I want to share one idea with you,
and we've got some panelists here that think it's pretty good idea, too,
and they're going to give you a different perspective, perhaps, than the
one I give you.

The way the system works is that you write a check -- you don't write a
check -- they take it out of your check, a payroll tax, and it immediately
goes to pay somebody's benefit. That's the way it works. It's a
pay-as-you-go system, and we'll discuss that in a minute. What I think you
ought to do is be able to take some of the money you're paying in and set
up what's called a personal retirement account. First of all, there's the
-- there's a simple principle, and it's -- actually, it's your money that's
going into the Social Security trust. You're working and you're paying the
payroll taxes, and I think some of that money ought to go into a retirement
account.

And why that is important is because with a conservative mix of stocks and
bonds, you will be able to get -- your money will be able to get a better
rate of return than the money inside the Social Security trust. And by
getting a better rate of return inside the Social Security trust, your nest
egg will grow big enough to help you when it comes time to retire. Not
fully take care of all your retirement obligations, because you'll still
have money in the Social Security trust, which you'll be able to receive at
the appropriate time, but it will help complement the money. And that's
important. And that's an important aspect of making sure that the promises
made to the younger workers are more likely, or more closely to be
delivered.

Secondly, I like the idea of promoting an ownership society. I think it
makes sense to have people feel a stake in the future by owning something.
I like the concept of people getting a quarterly statement about how their
stocks and bonds are doing in their own personal account.

Thirdly, I like the idea of somebody being able to say, my money has grown
to X; I'm not going to necessarily need it to retire, and I want to leave
it to whomever I choose to leave it to. In other words, you're asset, your
decision as to who ends up with the money that you have saved.

See, I think all these concepts are an important part of helping to
strengthen Social Security for generations to come, the most important
aspect of which, is that the money will earn a greater rate of return than
that which is now being earned in the Social Security trust. So a dollar
will be a lot bigger when it comes time to retire than a dollar that had
been kept in the trust. That's called the compounding rate of interest.

Now, some of you are beginning to glaze over -- I understand. (Laughter.)
Think about private property in an account that you can pass on to who you
want, that earns a better return than the current system, and you'll end up
with more money.

Now, there's some rules, and it's important for you to know the rules. One,
you can't take your money that you set aside in the personal account and go
to the race track. (Applause.) Or take it to the lottery. You can't do
that. There will be a prescribed mix of conservative stocks and bonds into
which you can invest, similar to the employee thrift plan at the federal
government level. See, this already exists, by the way. I haven't invented
this. Federal employees now get to do that. They get to take a portion of
their money and put it in a conservative mix of stocks and bonds, five
different programs they get to choose from, so they get a better rate and
more money.

Secondly, you can't pull it all out when it comes time to your -- you can't
take it all and then go to the track. (Laughter.) You're not allowed to do
that. You can take it out -- withdraw it in an orderly fashion so as it
complements your Social Security check. And those are important things for
people to understand.

Thirdly, there are ways to make sure that you can invest in very safe
certificates as you head into retirement. People are going to say, well,
what happens if the stock market goes down the year I'm going to retire?
Well, first of all, you've had your money in the market over an extended
period of time. But if you're worried about that, there are ways to invest
the money prior to retirement to help kind of shield from a cyclical
market. What I'm telling you is these investment vehicles will be safe.
There's all kinds of rhetoric about, well, you're not going to let people
gamble their money. Well, if things are done in a conservative fashion, you
will be able to achieve the objective of getting a better rate of return on
your money and have more money available for you on retirement than if it
had sat in the Social Security trust. In other words, that money will grow
better.

It's very important for people to understand that there's going to be some
tough decisions we have to make. And the purpose of personal accounts is
not only more freedom, but it's to try to get your retirement nest egg
close to that which has been promised. That's what we're talking about.

Now, that's one idea. And I'm willing to debate it, and campaign on it, and
talk to people about it. And I expect the Congress to take it seriously,
just like I'll take every idea that they put out seriously. This is going
to require a joint effort to get the job done. And I'm looking forward to
working with these members. I've got -- there's some sympathetic ears here,
which I appreciate. Other members are watching very carefully. They're
listening carefully. If you've got a concern about Social Security, you
tell your people about it. Just let me remind you, if you're a senior,
nothing changes. And if you're a youngster, I'd be knocking on the members
of the Congress and the Senate's door to say, what are you going to do
about that chart to make sure I can grow up in a -- (applause.)

Olivia Mitchell is with us. Olivia, tell them what you do.

DR. MITCHELL: Thank you, Mr. President. I teach pensions and Social
Security at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. And I
thank you because in the last couple of years, the students are finally
sitting up and paying attention because of what's in this graph.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it's a very important point she made. The private
account -- the private retirement accounts alone don't fix Social Security.
They are part of a larger solution. And that's what's important to know.
It's just the fact that you can earn better rates of return within a
private account that it makes it -- that it helps mitigate the other
changes in the system that will be necessary to eradicate the red ink.

Well, thanks for coming. Gosh, I'm -- you know, it's interesting -- well,
anyway, I find it interesting that younger people are now paying attention
to the issue. That's important. See, when the word gets out to the Congress
that says there's a lot of young folks who are saying, I don't think I'm
ever going to see a dime unless Congress acts, that will get people acting,
because there's a lot of young folks. The key is to make sure our seniors
fully understand that they're not going to see anything change.

Dwight Dillard, right here. You worked -- you've worked most of your life,
haven't you?

MR. DILLARD: Yes, sir, I have.

THE PRESIDENT: From where, initially?

MR. DILLARD: Initially, in the Midwest.

THE PRESIDENT: There you go.

MR. DILLARD: Lee Summit --

THE PRESIDENT: Been there, Lee Summit -- fine place, by the way. Went to
Lee Summit High School. I didn't attend Lee Summit High School. I actually
gave a speech at Lee Summit High School. (Laughter.)

MR. DILLARD: Yes, and your father did, too.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, he did. Ever since the Adams boys went to Lee Summit,
there hadn't been a father and son President team go. (Laughter and
applause.) Are you on Social Security now?

MR. DILLARD: Yes, sir, I am. I've been retired for about 10 years.

THE PRESIDENT: Right. So he's receiving Social Security. Dwight, when we
visited him back there, he just wanted to make sure the Social Security
system stayed the same for him. If you're on Social Security today, you're
not interested in somebody coming along saying, let's just change the
rules. And that's not happening. I hope you understand that.

MR. DILLARD: Yes, I -- yes, I do.

THE PRESIDENT: Good.

MR. DILLARD: I understand it completely and I'm -- my worry is for my
children and grandchildren.

THE PRESIDENT: Right.

MR. DILLARD: That's my concern.

THE PRESIDENT: That ought to be the concern of every grandparent and
parent, when you start thinking about the facts: $200 billion in 2027,
bigger the next year, bigger the next year, bigger the next year, and bust
in 2042. So I appreciate you coming. You got anything else you want to add,
Dwight?

MR. DILLARD: No, sir -- other than I think it should be acted on, the
sooner the better.

THE PRESIDENT: By the way, Dwight worked at Sheet Metal Local Number Two
Union. This is -- what we're talking about here is, we're talking about a
plan for everybody. This isn't just a management plan, this is an everybody
plan. This is an idea that we've all got to come together. Whether you're
union or management, Republican or Democrat, people from all walks of life
must put their minds together to get something done, so our youngsters are
not strapped with a system that's going to make it hard for this country's
economy to continue to remain the best in the world, where people are going
to be able to realize their dreams. That's what we're talking about.

So thanks for coming, Dwight.

MR. DILLARD: Thank you, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: You did a heck of a job. (Applause.)

Carlos -- Carlos Huertas. Bienvenidos.

MR. HUERTAS: Gracias.

THE PRESIDENT: Why were you interested in joining us? First of all, let's
talk about your family.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: So tell me about -- let's see, what do you do for a living?

Mr. HUERTAS: I'm a support engineer for a company that makes manufacturers
electronic laboratory equipment.

THE PRESIDENT: Good, yes. How's business?

MR. HUERTAS: It's good. PerkinElmer is a very good company.

THE PRESIDENT: It's good to hear. It's nice to hear, isn't it? (Applause.)
Actually, speaking about business, we had some good news today. The
national unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 percent and 146,000 jobs were
added in January. (Applause.) That's good.

MR. HUERTAS: That's very good.

THE PRESIDENT: Keep going. You're planning for your retirement, although
you're awfully young.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, see, it's an interesting thing what he's saying. First
of all, he says he's got a 401k. When I was coming up, those were three --
three numbers and one letter in the alphabet. No one knew what it meant --
401k. There's a different mentality amongst younger folks in America. A
401k means it's a plan that he owns and he manages. That's how the
retirement system works. He gets the statements.

MR. HUERTAS: Right.

THE PRESIDENT: He sees the mix of stocks and bonds grow. I presume it's
been growing.

MR. HUERTAS: Yes, it has. And the thing I like about the proposed reforms
to Social Security is that, just like I do on the 401k, I can invest in the
market where I get a better return, plus I can keep control of my finances
just like I like it.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. See, people say, well, I wonder if I can do that? In
the employee thrift plan, you've got five plans to choose from. We're not
talking about needing to become a great financial analyst in order to make
decisions. These are decisions that are common-sense decisions that anybody
can do over -- with a little -- just a little confidence. And you might
explain to people how easy it is in a 401k to make rational decisions for
your own money.

MR. HUERTAS: Normally, there's a manager, right, that is the finance
manager that controls the funds. All you need to do is decide how much
money you want to put on each account. And of course, there's always a
choice of -- whether you are younger, you usually put more money on the
risky finances and less money on the other one. When you are older, like
I'm getting, I will put less money on those risky -- (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: I wish I was your old. (Laughter.)

MR. HUERTAS: So anyway, it's pretty simple. There's obviously a lot of
funds out there. But my understanding is that in this reform, there's going
to be just a few of them.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, just a few choices to choose from, and no high-flyers,
reasonable -- reasonably managed risk. And that's important for people to
know.

Thanks for coming, Carlos. You did a fine job there.

MR. HUERTAS: My pleasure. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I'm looking forward to meeting your wife, sons and
daughter.

Jennifer. Jennifer has got the hardest job in America. She's a single mom.

MS. LALANI: Well, thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: All right, Jennifer, what do you do?

MS. LALANI: What do I do? Besides raising my two lovely children, which
again -- like you said, it is the hardest job, the most challenging job,
but the job I really truly love -- I'm actually a pharmacist. And I
currently work for a major chain. And what I do is I manage 30 of their
stores.

THE PRESIDENT: So you're a manager?

MS. LALANI: Yes, so being a mom was a great training ground for a corporate
job. (Laughter.) It taught me about multi-tasking.

THE PRESIDENT: Very good. Nice long word, multi-tasking. Very good.
(Laughter.) Inject a little intellectual strength here in this
conversation.

MS. LALANI: Yes, there you go. Corporate talk.

THE PRESIDENT: That's right. It is. All right, tell me what your concerns
are on the Social Security plan.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's an interesting point. I don't mean to interrupt
you, but it's a great point. If you put a lot of money in the system and
you die early, and your child is over a certain age, that asset of yours
goes to somebody else. That's the way the system works. In other words, you
have nothing left over under the current system. That's what you're saying.

MS. LALANI: Absolutely. From what I've read, these personal retirement
accounts, whatever is in there, would go on to your estate and to its
heirs.

THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.

MS. LALANI: I think the single moms out there who have to help fund their
kids' college education, if they were to pass on, at least there would be
something there for the children.

THE PRESIDENT: Precisely. The point is, is that, as Jennifer has mentioned,
it's her money that she has been paying in, But yet, there was nothing
there go give. And there's something -- I think one can achieve peace of
mind by having assets that you call your own, that you can pass on. And
that's one of the interesting aspects of a personal account. It's, to me,
promoting the idea of a mom working and saying, this is -- I'm building up
this for my kids, is really an important part of a stable and generous
society.

And so I want to thank you for bringing that up. Good job. (Applause.)

By the way, people say, can you afford to do this? Well, first of all, I
don't think you can afford not to do it. But we have got a plan; our idea
is that we phase in these accounts slowly so that the transition cost is
manageable in the budget process. In other words, these things just don't
start all at once. You can start by putting $1,000 aside, or up to 4
percent, which is ever [sic] less, and over time that grows $100 a year, so
eventually, you get to the 4 percent cap -- 4 percent of your income. So if
you're making $90,000, you can have an account of $3,600 a year. But it's
going to be phased in so that the transition cost is manageable.

We believe -- this administration believes that the slower you start and
let these accounts grow, the more people will see that it's fiscally -- a
fiscally responsible way to begin a brand-new idea.

Jim Browne. He's the youngest guy up here. Congratulations. (Laughter.) All
right, what do you do?

MR. BROWNE: I work for the Pinellas County government at the tax
collector's office. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Great. Thank you. (Laughter.)

MR. BROWNE: Sorry.

THE PRESIDENT: That's good, he knows something -- in other words, he's an
expert on the subject. (Laughter.) You had some interesting things to say.

MR. BROWNE: Yes. Well, first off, I'd like to say how much I appreciate you
bringing up the subject of the future of Social Security. For many of my
generation, we don't anticipate the system being there for us as it stands.

THE PRESIDENT: Let me stop there. Hear what he said? First of all, when I
was 27 years old, I don't remember having a discussion with anybody about
whether or not Social Security would be there. Any other baby boomers here
remember talking about Social Security and its viability when we were 27?
No. The dynamic has changed. There are 27-year-olders all over the country
saying, is the system going to be there, and what are you going to do about
it? Go ahead. (Laughter.) Not, what are you going to do about it; what I'm
going to do about it. (Laughter.)

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: Portability means, when you change jobs the account goes
with you, it's yours, like, forever, until you pass it on to somebody else.
Good point. I wish I'd have thought of that. (Laughter.) Is that it? You're
full of wisdom; you might as well -- you're on a roll. (Laughter.)

MR. BROWNE: Well, I just hope that Congress will work together in a
bipartisan fashion, because this is -- (applause.) Well, this is something
that is not going to be anything that's going to disappear anywhere in the
near future -- well, actually, the way it stands, it just might.
(Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: No, it won't disappear in the future because there's still
going to be liability -- people are still going to want the checks the
government has promised. The problem won't go away, it just gets worse.
That's exactly right. When you're getting your check, and the government
says they're going to give you one, you expect it. And so as this thing
gets redder and redder and redder, the measures become more and more
draconian, to make sure we fulfill the obligations.

It's not going away. You're right, it 's not. Bankrupt doesn't mean it
disappears; bankrupt means it's just flat broke. And it means we're going
to have to do something dramatic to fix it. And now is the time to get
after it.

Listen, a good presentation by all the people up here. I hope this helps
you understand that this is -- I mean, it's one thing for me to come and
kind of opine; it's another thing for people who have thought about the
issue to give you their opinions. And there's a lot of people like them all
over the country who are concerned enough to come on a stage, by the way,
in front of all these cameras, and express their opinions. And I want to
thank you all for doing it.

Let me -- I'll answer some questions, if you've got time. (Applause.) Let
me answer some questions, and we'll get out of here. You did good. Thank
you. You've got the best view in the house. (Laughter.)

Any questions? Yes, sir.

Q (Inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, 19 -- he's worried about the notch issue. We don't
think that's going to be an issue. Before 1950, everything stays the same
-- before your -- before those -- for those who were born on 1950 and
before, everything stays the same. And afterwards, the program will be -- a
personal account will begin to affect them.

Yes, ma'am.

Q -- to the way you're proposing?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, she's asking about the cost of the transition. It's
estimated about $600 billion over a 10-year period of time to get the
personal accounts started on the -- the way we've suggested they grow. It's
a good question.

Yes, ma'am.

Q -- really understand how is it the new plan is going to fix that problem?

THE PRESIDENT: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address
the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example,
is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or
price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being
considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers,
affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to
get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what
has been promised.

Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a
series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are
calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of
prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise
based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that
would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how
fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if
that growth is affected, it will help on the red.

Okay, better? I'll keep working on it. (Laughter.)

Yes, sir.

Q How do you like these hard questions?

THE PRESIDENT: You know. You watch my press conferences? (Laughter.) Please
don't encourage him. (Laughter.)

Q I've heard this is going to be a volunteer personal account.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it is.

Q And also would a employee or a worker be able to go above and beyond what
the government is going to require if we decide to enter the program?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, interesting question. You can through an IRA, for
example. I can't answer that as -- what he's saying is, is that if he has a
personal account, can he contribute more beyond that which is being
contributed through a part of his payroll taxes. I would think so, yes, but
I'm not sure. I do know, however, that you can complement a personal
retirement account through the Social Security system with an IRA, which
helps to achieve the same objective, basically setting up a personal
account. Thank you.

Yes, sir -- yes, ma'am.

Q First of all, I'd like to say that I'm a volunteer -- one of your very
loyal and dedicated volunteers in Plant City.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you. (Applause.)

Q And I'm very happy to have you as the President. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Q Thank you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Okay, okay, wait a minute. (Applause.) Thank you very much.
I appreciate you saying that. Now, having said that, however -- (laughter.)

Q I do have a question. I'm on Social Security.

THE PRESIDENT: Right.

Q And I'm disabled, and I just wondered if there's going to an intensified
program into some of the disability benefits that they have now.

THE PRESIDENT: No.

Q Okay. (Laughter.) Whatever program that you put out for Social Security
I'm fully behind it. You have my support.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, ma'am. (Applause.) I appreciate that. Yes, ma'am.
Her question was -- see, there is a Social Security benefit as a part of --
there is a disability benefit as a part of Social Security. It won't
change. We're talking about the retirement aspect of Social Security.

Yes, ma'am.

Q Will it help me when I grow up? (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: That's a loaded question. (Laughter.) Yes. It's -- that's
the fundamental reason we're here, is that the system isn't going to be
worth a darn unless we do something about it now. Thank you for asking that
question.

Yes, ma'am.

Q President Bush, welcome to Tampa. We're so happy you're back.

THE PRESIDENT: Nice to be back, thank you. Good to see my friend, the
former mayor, Martinez, here.

Q Yes, we're so excited about Senator Martinez.

THE PRESIDENT: The other Martinez -- I'm talking about --

Q Oh, I'm sorry. (Laughter.) My bad.

THE PRESIDENT: Former Governor Martinez.

Q Can I make a suggestion, as well as ask a question?

THE PRESIDENT: You can do anything you want now that you got the mike.
(Laughter.)

Q Well, I think you'll like this. It's a simple suggestion. Regarding, the
flexible spending account, my suggestion is to encourage Congress to
quickly get rid of the "use it or lose it" law, which will also supplement
the help with Social Security. And then, my question is, for the three or
four options that will be available, will those options be federally-run
options? Or will they be from like commercial providers, say, like Fidelity
Investments?

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, that's a great question. They'll be from providers.
We don't want the federal government making stocks and bond decisions.
(Applause.) They'll be private -- private sector, people who get paid to do
this. And the fees, by the way, will be -- we'll make sure that you don't
get gouged. I mean, obviously, what we want is people's money going into
their personal account, not going into big fee structures. And so there
will be a -- it will be regulated to that extent. In other words, there
will a certain sense of regulation, you can only invest in certain kinds of
stocks and bonds to be -- and the funds will be managed by people whose job
it is to manage them, outside of the government.

Let's see here -- yes, sir.

Q Thank you, sir. I'm 19.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q And I want to invest as much money as I possibly can in the market
because I feel -- I feel I can make a lot better return on my rate.

THE PRESIDENT: Okay.

Q What is the -- how much can we put in? What's the most we can put in to
these private accounts?

THE PRESIDENT: How much do you make?

Q Well, I'm a student.

THE PRESIDENT: Guess. (Laughter.) Go ahead, guess how much you're going to
make. First of all, let's just assume you make $50,000 your first year,
over time, when this is phased in, so we can afford it, you'll be able to
put $2,000 a year into your personal account from the -- from the payroll
taxes. In other words, there will be a 4 percent cap on what you can put
in. And if you make more money, you can put more money in.

But you can also -- by the way, to answer this man's question, you can set
up a -- you can set up another savings account. You can set up your own
IRA. And there's all kinds of options for the IRA to do that.

I like your attitude, man. Good luck. Are those your buddies next to you.
Just met them. Okay. (Laughter.) Would you recommend I call on them? All
right, fine.

Q Which one?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sir. Either one -- both.

Q Hi, I'm a high school student. I'm just wondering is there anything I can
to prepare for this new Social Security reform when I grow up?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it is. That's a good question. You know, one of the
issues is financial literacy, is to pay attention to what it means, how
stocks and bonds work, compounding rate of interest. That's a very good
question. A lot of people, when you say, the interest grows at a certain --
over time at a certain rate, people are not really sure what we're talking
about. And I think -- I think the idea of becoming more literate in
financial matters is a smart idea.

I also -- the fact that you're here and paying attention to the issue, this
is a political issue. This is an issue that is going to require Congress
moving on. And sometimes it requires the people expressing their desires to
get Congress moving on the issue.

And I want to thank you for coming and paying attention. I'm not so sure
when I was your age I would have showed up and hear some old guy talking
about -- (laughter) -- talking about an issue like that.

Yes, sir.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Firstly, I'd like to say something that just --
my generation doesn't believe that it will be there in its current form. I
strongly believe that. I don't believe the system will be there for me. I'm
28 years old.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, there's one thing on that. That's what's changing the
debate. That's what gives me confidence that people who are -- have been
elected can stand up and be rewarded for taking on the issue, not punished,
because there are thousands of people like him who say, I don't think I'm
ever going to see anything, and what are you going to do about it,
particularly once our seniors are convinced nothing is going to change. And
that is a very important point.

Go ahead.

Q My question is, first of all, how do you prevent agendas from getting
into the investment choices that we'll have? And two, what can I do to help
you?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I appreciate that. You can -- well, you can start by
writing your senators. One of them is sitting right here. I know he agrees
with what we're doing. (Laughter.) He's in good shape. (Laughter.) Well,
I'm not picking on anybody. Just -- there's two of them, and here's one.
You can just verbalize with one. (Applause.)

So, it's a very interesting question, what can you do to stop agendas? I'm
not exactly -- I'll try to read what you mean in that question. It also --
it kind of teams up with this woman's question here about, will government
be kind of -- getting people to make certain kinds of investments? And the
answer is, no. Government -- government's job is to make sure that the risk
portfolio -- in other words, the mix of investments -- is suited to getting
a good return at lower risk. But government's job is not to try to steer
you to one industry or another. We don't want government making investment
decisions on behalf of the American people. We want American people with
good advisors making investment decisions.

And that's a good question. The government's role is to set the guidelines.
In other words, there will be -- and we do this. The thrift savings account
-- if anybody works for the federal government, is an investor in the
thrift savings account, you know what I mean. There's a series of five
different programs that you can choose from that have been, obviously,
carefully screened, and it combines a mix of stocks and bonds so that, like
a 401k, you can -- higher-risk portfolio the younger you are, if you feel
like it, and a lower-risk portfolio with a lower rate of return the older
you get. And there's -- people are expert at managing this in the private
sector.

Listen, I can stand here all day long answering questions, but I'm not,
because I've got to go back and have dinner with First Lady Laura Bush --
and I can't wait. Thank you all for coming. God bless. Thanks for being
here. (Applause.)

END 4:56 P.M. EST

===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050204-13.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)