Text 680, 399 rader
Skriven 2005-03-21 23:33:08 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0503218) for Mon, 2005 Mar 21
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Remarks by the President at a Conversation on Strengthening Social Security
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 21, 2005

Remarks by the President at a Conversation on Strengthening Social Security



REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT A CONVERSATION ON STRENGTHENING SOCIAL SECURITY
Wings Over The Rockies Air and Space Museum Denver, Colorado 4:44 P.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for
greeting me and Senator McCain. He's up here to claim some water, he said.
(Laughter.) AUDIENCE: Ooooh -- THE PRESIDENT: Never mind. Just an inside
joke that didn't work. (Laughter.) But we appreciate you coming today.
We're going to have a serious dialogue on Social Security. It's an issue
that requires a lot of dialogue and a lot of discussion. And so I want to
thank our panelists for joining us. I want to thank you all for your
interest in this subject. Before I begin I do want to thank Governor Bill
Owens and Frances for joining us today. Good to see you all. (Applause.)
Congressman Bob Beauprez is with us. Good to see you, Congressman. Thank
you, sir. (Applause.) Congressman Joel Hefley, from down the road, is with
us. (Applause.) Lt. Governor Jane Norton is with us. Thanks for coming.
(Applause.) The Attorney General of the great state of Colorado is with us.
Thanks for coming, General Suthers. (Applause.) Mark Hillman is with us;
Joe Stengel is with us; a lot of people are with us. (Applause.) We
appreciate you being here. I hope you've been as impressed by the spread of
freedom as I've been. We believe in America that freedom is not America's
gift to the world, but it's the Almighty's gift to every person in the
world. That's what we believe. (Applause.) And we shouldn't be surprised. I
know some of us were surprised, but we shouldn't be surprised when people
are willing to take risk for freedom. If you believe that freedom is etched
in every person's soul, then you understand why, in Afghanistan, for
example, millions of people, after having been freed from the Taliban, were
willing to go to the polls, were willing to say, we're free and we want to
exercise our right. The same thing happened in Ukraine. The same thing
happened in the Palestinian Territories when they voted for President
Abbas. I believe he's committed to democracy. I believe the march of
freedom will extend to the Palestinian Territories so that our friend,
Israel, will have a partner in peace, a true democracy in the Palestinian
country. (Applause.) John recently went to Iraq. He was telling me what
amazing place Iraq now is. How many times you been there? Two or three
times -- twice. Things have changed, and things changed not because,
necessarily, our decisions; things changed because of courageous Iraqis
that were willing to go to the polls in the face of incredible threat, but
they wouldn't be denied because people do want to be free. And it's
important for the youngsters here to understand that the march of freedom
will yield peace, the peace we want. Free societies are peaceful societies;
free societies are hopeful societies; free societies are the best way to
defeat the dark vision of the terrorists. And so for the next four years, I
look forward to working with friends and allies to continue the march of
freedom for the sake of peace. (Applause.) I appreciate the fact that the
unemployment rate here in Colorado is 4.9 percent. The environment --
entrepreneurial environment here is strong, and that is good. We've got to
keep policies in place to make sure our economy grows. I am concerned, I
know you're concerned, about the price of gasoline. You're beginning to see
the fact that we haven't had an energy policy in the United States at the
pump. I know we need to encourage conservation. I know we need to find
alternative sources of energy. I hope someday we can use biodiesel to make
us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. I know we need to use our
technological capacities not only to protect the environment, but to make
us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. I know we need to modernize
our electricity grid. In other words, Congress needs to stop debating the
energy bill. I know what we don't need -- with the price of energy the way
it is, I know we don't need tax breaks for oil companies. What we need is
an energy plan, in order to make sure this economy continues to grow.
Congress needs to pass the bill. (Applause.) But today we're going to talk
about Social Security. It's an issue that some are saying, why would you
want to talk about Social Security, it's a tough political issue. I
believe, John believes, people here believe that now is the time to
confront a problem, not to pass it on to future Presidents and future
Congresses. I mean, if you see a problem, I believe it is incumbent upon a
leader to confront that problem. And let me tell you what I think the
problem is. The problem is Social Security has changed since the day that
Franklin Roosevelt first thought of it. It has changed because a lot of
baby boomers like me are getting ready to retire, and we're living longer,
and we've been promised more benefits, but fewer people are paying into the
system. We're having less kids. In 1950, 16 workers were paying for every
beneficiary. Today, 3.3 workers are paying for every beneficiary. When
younger people start getting ready to retire, it's going to be two workers
paying for every beneficiary. Fewer people paying for more baby boomers
like me, who are living longer and have been promised greater benefits.
What's changed is the math. What hasn't changed is the importance of having
a good retirement system. Franklin Roosevelt ought to be applauded for
putting a safety net in place for our seniors. This President and the
Congress -- many in the Congress understand that safety net has got a hole
in it. And we're here to talk about how to mend the hole. You see, when you
see a problem, I think it's necessary to confront the problem. Because
there's fewer workers paying into the system, the Social Security system
will go into the red in 2018. That means more money will be going out than
coming in. Now, you probably think -- some of you may think there's what
they call a Social Security trust: the government collects the money for
you, we hold it for you, and when you retire, we pay it to you. But that's
not how it works. You pay your payroll tax; we pay for the people who have
retired, and if there's any money left over, we spend it on government.
That's how it works. And what's left is an empty IOU, a piece of paper.
Because it's a pay-as-you-go system, when more retirees start retiring, who
are living longer, getting paid more, more money starts going out than
coming in. In 2027, that deficit will be $200 billion, and growing greater
every year. From 2018 to 2042, the deficit increase every year, the amount
of money going out relative to the money coming in. And that's the problem.
We're fine. I'm going to say it once, I'm going to say it as many times as
I can: Seniors here in this audience and listening on TV must understand,
nothing changes, you're going to get your check. When you hear us talking
about Social Security, you must understand that nothing will change for
you. For those of us born prior to 1950, the system will not change. The
fundamental question is, how -- what are we going to do about the next
generation coming up? Are we going to saddle them with a huge deficit in
Social Security? Now, that's why I went to the Congress during the State of
the Union and said, we've got a problem. I spent a lot of time describing
the problem, but I also said, I'm willing to listen to any solution. I'm
willing to say, you've got an idea, bring it -- bring it forward. As a
matter of fact, I think I might have been the best President -- first
President ever to say, here are some ideas for you. (Applause.) First
President. (Laughter.) No, no, no, forget the "best" part. (Laughter.)
First President. (Applause.) Forget it. Just because you've got a cowboy
hat doesn't mean you can stand up and yell. (Laughter.) Thank you. I said,
put all ideas on the table. It doesn't matter if it's a Democrat idea, a
Republican idea. I'm interested in solving the problem. And I'm interested
in solving it permanently. We don't need a temporary fix. Earlier today in
Arizona we were talking about the fact that in 1983, President Reagan and
Tip O'Neill and Bob Dole and others stood up and said, there is a problem;
let's come together. And the spirit was an important spirit. But they said
it was a 75-year fix at the time. And because the math has changed, baby
boomers like me getting ready to retire, living longer, getting bigger
benefits, because that changed, we're now talking about the issue 22 years
later. It wasn't 75 years; it's essentially less than 75 years. So you may
hear some of them say, well, we've got a 75-year fix for you. In my
judgment, that's not good enough. Now is the time to come together to fix
this problem for generations to come, permanently. (Applause.) I've got an
idea that I think ought to be considered. You've heard a lot about it. It's
called personal savings accounts. (Applause.) It wasn't my idea. As a
matter of fact, this is an idea that's a part of 401(k)s, for example. You
get to set aside some of your own money, you manage it in a conservative
mix of bonds and stocks. It wasn't my idea; as a matter of fact, the
federal government thought of this a long time before I did, and that is
federal workers ought to be allowed to take some of their own money and set
it aside in a federal thrift savings plan where you can invest it in a
series of bonds and stocks. And the reason why people thought that was a
good idea is because they understand that you can get a better rate of
return on a conservative mix of bonds and stocks than you can if your money
is held by the federal government. And that rate of return is important for
the individual worker, because over time that grows. It grows -- it
compounds. It's called the compounding effect of interest. Now, let me give
you an example. If you were to allow a worker that made $35,000 over his or
her lifetime to take a third of their payroll taxes and put it in a
personal savings account, and invest it in a conservative mix of bonds and
stocks, by the time that person retired, that money would have grown to be
a quarter of a million dollars. In other words, that's how interest grows.
That's how money -- that's how money compounds over time. Now, when it
comes time to fixing the Social Security system, you got to understand the
government can't keep the promises it made to young workers. And so one way
to allow young workers to get a better deal from a permanent fix in the
Social Security system is to let them take some of their own money and
watch their own money grow, to be a part of a retirement system. In other
words, you're going to get a check from the Social Security system. They
can't tell you how much yet. But you know you can get a check plus your own
asset base if you allow people to have a personal savings account.
Secondly, I think it's important for a society to encourage ownership. I
love the idea that more people are owning a home than ever before in our
society today. (Applause.) I like it when I hear somebody say, I own my own
business. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong in Colorado. We got more
people owning their own business. I think it makes sense to encourage
people to manage their own asset base through the Social Security account.
I like the idea of people opening up their quarterly statement and saying,
well, here's how -- here's my -- here's what my worth is. Watching
something grow. Certainly make people more interested in the fiscal
decisions of the federal government when they watch their own assets. I
like the idea of saying that you can have your own asset and you can pass
it on to whomever you want. (Applause.) I don't think the system is fair
for a couple who are working all their lives and the husband dies early,
and the wife has got either survivor benefits or her own Social Security
benefits, whichever is higher, but not both. Think about that kind of
system. Both of them work their life -- we met a woman today whose husband
died at 55. He had worked 30 years of his life, put money in the Social
Security system. Upon his death, she got no benefits because she wasn't 62.
They did pay $255 of burial benefits. He worked all his life; the wife gets
$255 out of it. She retires at 62, gets a bigger check than the survivor
benefits. And so the husband's contributions in the Social Security have
just gone away. That's not a fair system. A fair system said that this
younger worker, at the time, when he was younger, should be allowed, upon
his choice -- this is a voluntary program, by the way; the government is
not making you set aside money; you can do it if you want -- should be
allowed to set aside some of his money, in this case. It grows. Upon death,
the money goes to the wife. That's fair. It's an asset. (Applause.) A
couple of points I want to make, and then we're going to turn to the panel.
Laura told me, don't talk too much. (Laughter.) She obviously failed. By
the way, she's doing great. She's a fabulous woman. (Applause.) People say,
what are these -- what does this mean, investing? Well, you can't put it in
the lottery. In other words, there's a prescribed investment portfolio,
just like the federal employees do. There's a conservative mix that will
get you a better rate of return than what your money is getting at the --
in the federal government. Secondly, when you retire, you can't pull all
your money out. In other words, it's there to help you retire. The capital
stays in place and you live off the interest, plus whatever the Social
Security system can afford. But thirdly, you can leave it to whomever you
want, and your heir can liquidate your personal account. That would help
the widow, for example, or a child getting ready to go to college if the
mom or dad dies. In other words, this is a way to not only encourage
ownership, but it's a way to encourage asset formation for the families of
America. We want more people -- more people, from all walks of life, being
able to say, this is my asset and I choose to leave it to my son or
daughter. (Applause.) Lee Abdnor is with us. Every panel has got to have an
expert. In this case, we've got a lot of experts -- except for me and
McCain -- (laughter) -- the best Senator. (Laughter and applause.) Lee,
tell us what you do. MS. ABDNOR: Thank you, Mr. President. My name is Lee
Abdnor, as you said, and I'm from Boulder, Colorado. THE PRESIDENT: I know
some people from Boulder. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: One of the interesting
things, Lee -- (applause) -- I thought it was interesting to watch this
commission work. Unlike some parts of Washington, this commission actually
said, we're not here to promote a political party, we're here to help solve
a major problem. And it's that spirit -- Senator Moynihan did a fabulous
job, by the way, of leading this commission, God rest his soul. But he
said, look, we're not here to promote any individual person or candidate or
party, we're here to do our duty as Americans. It is the spirit of this
commission -- in other words, people can sit at the table saying, I want to
hear your idea, bring forth your idea, every idea ought to be considered --
it's that spirit that now needs to take hold in Congress. The American
people don't want to see partisan bickering on this -- on this issue. They
want to see people come together and solve it once and for all. And I want
to thank you, Lee, for being here. (Applause.) Somebody who understands
that -- somebody who understands the spirit of working together is John
McCain, the Senator from Arizona. Thanks for coming, Senator. SENATOR
McCAIN: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you all for coming today.
(Applause.) It's a pleasure to be here to visit our water. And I thank you
for the opportunity. (Laughter.) Remember, we have so little water in
Arizona, the trees chase the dogs, so please send as much as you can.
(Laughter.) I'm very happy to with all of you today. Let me just if I could
-- THE PRESIDENT: Trying to get back? SENATOR McCAIN: Pretty good, huh? Not
bad. THE PRESIDENT: It's the tree and the dog thing that got us. We're
trying -- (laughter.) SENATOR McCAIN: I have more. (Laughter.) * * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: All right. Norm Mossoni -- glad you're here, Norm. Where do
you live? MR. MOSSONI: I live in Louisville, Colorado. I was born in -- I
was born and raised there, and I'm still there. THE PRESIDENT: Really?
(Applause.) You were born in Louisville how many years ago, if I might ask?
MR. MOSSONI: Well, not many, back in 1919, somewhere. THE PRESIDENT: 1919.
That's a long time ago. (Laughter.) Do you get a Social Security check? You
qualify. (Laughter.) MR. MOSSONI: Absolutely. And actually, Mr. President,
it is a kind of a significant part of my retirement program, along with the
other things that I was fortunate enough to be aware of and prepare for so
that it is not a full pension -- it's a cushion. You've got to have
something else. THE PRESIDENT: Right. But you're counting on it? MR.
MOSSONI: Absolutely. THE PRESIDENT: There's a lot of people like Norm
counting on their check. And I understand that, and John understands that,
members of Congress understand that. Social Security is important for a lot
of people, and as this debate goes on, I want the people who depend upon
Social Security to understand you're going to get your check. Is that -- I
hope you understand that, Norm. MR. MOSSONI: Oh, I absolutely understand
it. (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: Because if you didn't understand it, then
I'm not making myself clear. (Laughter.) And I'm going to keep making
myself clear until people -- the seniors of this country can relax about
this debate.

Keep going. You're on a roll. (Laughter.) * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: He's
concerned about his grandchildren enough that he invited his granddaughter,
Joleen. This is a generational issue, folks. The generation of Norm and my
generation, you won't have anything to worry about. But there's a lot of
grandparents who, once they understand that, start saying to the Congress
and the President, how are you going to protect my granddaughter? What are
you going to do about my children? What are you going to do about my
grandchildren. And that's what this issue -- this is a generational issue.
This is an issue that recognizes the importance of -- this generation
understands the importance of Social Security. But we also understand we
better do something about it for the generation coming up. Joleen, thanks
for coming. Twenty-one years old, sitting right here with the President and
the Senator, right on the stage. (Applause.) You are a student, where? MS.
MOSSONI: I'm a student at the University of Colorado, a junior studying
political science. THE PRESIDENT: Good. Yes, well, this is a little
political science exercise right now. This is called, taking the message to
the people. (Laughter.) Because I believe the people will influence the
outcome of this debate. Here's your chance to influence the outcome of the
debate. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: Right. Well spoken. (Applause.) Somebody
told me about a survey once that said 20-year-old Americans believe they're
more likely to see a UFO than get a check. (Laughter.) It's an interesting
dynamic, isn't it? (Laughter.) Think about the political dynamic there.
Once seniors realize nothing is going to change for them, 20-, 30-,
40-year-old Americans are going to have an enormous say in this debate. You
need to say loud and clear, we got a problem, are you -- do you have the
political will to fix it for me. And I appreciate the idea. I tell you
another interesting thing. I know when McCain and I were coming up, we
weren't talking about personal accounts or investing our own money. But
there is an interesting culture in America. There's a 401(k) culture.
There's a group people who are now used to managing their own money.
There's a lot of personal involvement in the marketplace from people of all
walks in life. We're not trying to invent something new. We're trying to
take what has become a reality and extend it to a government program. Seems
like to me that 401(k)s are working. A lot of people like them. A lot of
people are comfortable with them. Why don't we take that same concept about
giving workers the option of taking some of their own money and investing
in the market so, as John said, they can get a better rate on their own
money. It's not the government's money to begin with. So thanks, I
appreciate that very much. (Applause.) Speaking about 401(k)s, or 403(b)s
-- which is the 401(k)equivalent for the nonprofits, isn't that right,
Tricia? Thanks for coming. MS. MANLEY: Thank you. THE PRESIDENT: Tell
everybody what happened three weeks ago. MS. MANLEY: My husband Chris and I
just had our first daughter, Morgan. THE PRESIDENT: Very good, yes.
(Applause.) MS. MANLEY: She's three weeks today. THE PRESIDENT: She's here.
MS. MANLEY: She is here, waiting to meet you. THE PRESIDENT: Good, looking
forward to seeing Morgan. Oh, there's Morgan. Look at her. Oh, yeah.
(Applause.) Tell Morgan not to worry, reform is on the way. (Laughter.) Go
ahead, Tricia. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's an interesting thought.
People need to listen -- people in Congress need to listen. I know a lot of
young Americans aren't supposed to be paying attention to politics they
say, but they are. They're beginning to understand that this is going to be
a problem for generations to come unless we do something. Now, are you -- a
403(b), which is -- which you invest in, some are probably worried about,
do I have the capacity to invest. There's this concept of investor class in
America, which means only a certain person is capable. Kind of an
interesting point of view. I, frankly, disagree with that. I totally reject
that point of view. But in order to assure people -- I mean, when you start
looking at investment options, did you find it to be rocket science or
something difficult? MS. MANLEY: No, not at all. And, you know, same thing
as with what you're talking about. We have choices. You can't just go out
and dump all your money in the hottest tech stock. You've got a certain
number of limited choices that it's not going to disappear tomorrow. THE
PRESIDENT: Yes. And you get quarterly statements? MS. MANLEY: Absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT: See, I think it's -- I think it would be a wonderful way to
encourage people to pay attention to their government, is to open your
quarterly statement and say, look at this, look at my assets. They don't
seem to be going up so much; maybe we ought to change Presidents or
something, you know -- (laughter) -- or senators, whatever the case may be.
(Laughter.) Too late, in my case, but nevertheless. (Laughter.) You're on a
roll. You're doing great. MS. MANLEY: At the end of the day, one of the
things that's attractive about the personal accounts is that, even though
we've been paying into the system, and right now we may not see anything,
under those accounts, we would at least get something back from what we've
put in. And the other thing that I really like is that at the end of the
day, there would be something for us to leave to Morgan. THE PRESIDENT:
There you go. Thanks, great job. Thanks for coming, Tricia.
Congratulations. Looking forward to seeing Morgan. (Applause.) This will be
the first time a President has kissed her. (Laughter.) Looking forward to
it. I don't know if she is or not, but I am. (Laughter.) Our final panelist
is Randy Reed, one of the baby boomers. Randy and I -- I'm 58, you're 56.
MR. REED: Yes, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT: I'm on the leading edge of the
baby boomers. As a matter of fact, interestingly enough, my retirement age
comes in 2008. (Laughter.) Isn't that -- isn't that convenient? (Laughter.)
Back to the trees and the dogs, right? (Laughter.) What do you do, Randy?
MR. REED: Mr. President, I have a custom picture frame store in Greenwood
Village, Colorado. THE PRESIDENT: Your own business? MR. REED: Yes, sir. I
own my own business with my wife. THE PRESIDENT: Classic. (Applause.) She's
the boss and you're the -- MR. REED: I just follow instructions. THE
PRESIDENT: That's good. (Laughter.) Started your own business, owning your
own business -- classic American story, isn't it. Making a living? MR.
REED: Yes, sir. THE PRESIDENT: That's good. Why are you concerned, besides
-- you were born before 1950. MR. REED: I was born -- yes, Mr. President, I
was born before 1950. THE PRESIDENT: You're in good shape. Don't worry
about it. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: You know, I hear from a lot of small
businesses, and they obviously take great comfort in knowing that at least
we're addressing the issue, trying to solve the problem. Can you imagine
being a small business like Randy's who puts a lot of money into the
payroll tax -- pays a lot of payroll tax, the company portion of payroll
taxes, thinking that, well, maybe there won't be a system for the people
that I'm contributing toward. And so one of the things that will help the
entrepreneurial spirit, at least help the small businesses to know, that
we've got the courage to come together to reform the system so that your
contributions will work. That's what they'll -- they'll do what they're
intended to do. And part of the payroll tax -- the personal accounts coming
out of the payroll tax will obviously be a part of what he's contributing
to a worker's -- half of the worker's payroll tax. And so this is a big
issue for small businesses, folks. I mean, this is a very important part of
making sure that the small business sector remains strong, that we've got
to solve this problem now. You got anything else to add? Any wisdom? You
want to sell a product or two? You got a chance here. (Laughter.) MR. REED:
Oh, yes. What I would like to say, though, Mr. President, is that I'm not
looking for a Band-Aid effect to this. I'd like to see a permanent fix for
the Social Security Administration. THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I appreciate you
saying that. I think coming to the table -- when we get people to the
table, we're talking permanent. (Applause.) I think that's the spirit of
the Congress, don't you, John? SENATOR McCAIN: Yes, sir. THE PRESIDENT:
Yes. Listen, I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have. I want you tell
-- I want to tell you something. You can influence the outcome of this
debate; people here in the audience and people watching on TV can decide
whether or not Congress hears the call -- hears the call that Senator
McCain issued, hears the call that I've issued, hears the call that
panelists have issued, which is, look, we're concerned. We have a problem.
Show us that you're capable of coming together to solve the problem. My
strategy is simple. I'm going to continue to travel this country, making it
abundantly clear the nature of the problem, assuring seniors that they have
nothing to worry about, because I understand once that sinks in, once
people know we have a problem, and seniors have nothing to worry about, the
question from the people were [sic] going to be, what are you going to do
to fix it? And I'm more than willing to come to the table and listen to
ideas. Today, we discussed some interesting ideas that will help make the
Social Security system work better for the individual, or as John said,
will help make the system connect to a young generation. I hope -- I'm
confident that eventually the will will be there to get something done. I
appreciate so much, Senator, your willingness to join in this issue. I love
the spirit of somebody saying, we're not going to pass this on. Now is the
time to confront the problem. Now is the time to do our duty as elected
officials. Thank you for your interest in the subject. May God bless you
all, and may God continue to bless our country. END 5:35 P.M. MST
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