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Skriven 2005-02-12 23:33:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050212) for Sat, 2005 Feb 12
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President's Radio Address
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For Immediate Release
February 12, 2005

President's Radio Address


˙˙˙˙˙Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In my State of the Union address, I discussed
the need to act to strengthen and save Social Security. Since then, I have
traveled to eight states and spoken with tens of thousands of you about my
ideas. I have reminded you that Social Security was one of the great moral
successes of the 20th century. And for those born before 1950, I have
assured you that the Social Security system will not change in any way, and
you will receive your checks.

˙Radio Address
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˙Radio Interviews
  ū 2004
I've also warned our younger workers that the government has made promises
it cannot pay for with the current pay-as-you-go system. Social Security
was created decades ago for a very different era. In 1950, about 16 workers
paid into the system for every one person drawing benefits. Today, we have
only about three workers for each beneficiary, and over the next few
decades, baby boomers like me will retire, people will be living longer and
benefits are scheduled to increase dramatically. Eventually, there will be
just two workers per beneficiary. With every passing year, fewer workers
will be paying ever-higher benefits to ever-larger numbers of retirees.

So here is the result: 13 years from now, in 2018, Social Security will be
paying out more than it collects in payroll taxes; and every year afterward
will bring a new and larger shortfall. For example, in the year 2027, the
government will somehow have to come up with an extra $200 billion a year
to keep the system afloat. By the year 2033, the annual shortfall would be
more than $300 billion a year. And by the year 2042, the entire system
would be bankrupt. If we do not act now to avert that outcome, the only
solutions would be dramatically higher taxes, massive new borrowing or
sudden and severe cuts in Social Security benefits or other government
programs.

To keep the promise of Social Security alive for our children and
grandchildren, we need to fix the system once and for all. Fixing Social
Security permanently will require a candid review of the options. In recent
years, many people have offered suggestions, such as limiting benefits for
wealthy retirees; indexing benefits to prices, instead of wages; increasing
the retirement age; or changing the benefit formulas and creating
disincentives for early collection of Social Security benefits. All these
ideas are on the table.

I will work with members of Congress and listen to any good idea that does
not include raising payroll taxes. But we cannot pretend that the problem
does not exist. Social Security will go broke when some of our younger
workers get ready to retire, and that is a fact. And if you're a younger
person, you ought to be asking your elected officials, what are you going
to do about it -- because every year we wait, the problem becomes worse for
our children.

And as we fix Social Security permanently, we must make it a better deal
for younger workers by allowing them to set aside part of their payroll
taxes in personal retirement accounts. The accounts would be voluntary. The
money would go into a conservative mix of bond and stock funds that would
have the opportunity to earn a higher rate of return than anything the
current system could provide. A young person who earns an average of
$35,000 a year over his or her career would have nearly a quarter million
dollars saved in his or her own retirement account. And that money would
provide a nest egg to supplement that worker's traditional Social Security
check, or to pass on to his or her children. Best of all, it would replace
the empty promises of the current system with real assets of ownership.

Reforming Social Security will not be easy, but if we approach this debate
with courage and honesty, I am confident we will succeed, because our
children's retirement security is more important than partisan politics.

Thank you for listening.

END
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