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Donald Trump called into a CNBC show on Monday morning, allowing host Joe Kernen to ask a question about government spending and, specifically, the large chunk of spending that is committed to social programs. “Have you changed your outlook on how to handle entitlement — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Mr. President?” Kernen asked. “It seems like something has to be done.” At that point, two familiar patterns kicked in. Trump tends to like to align with the opinions offered by his interviewers, particularly on subjects that aren’t at the center of his political identity. He also tends to ramble when...

In 2005, then President George Bush was trying to "sell through" his Reform of Social Security. The Democrats put all their weight against the plan even said that the Social Security "crisis was fake." At least that's how it was described in an ad run by Move On, which also said: People don’t pay Social Security taxes on a penny of their income above $90,000 a year. Not a single penny. What if they did? The system would be in strong shape long after 2042. But instead of the wealthy paying their fair share of Social Security taxes, George Bush...

In the aftermath of their November election victory, Democratic leaders have pledged to work on a bipartisan basis to solve the problems facing our nation. In that spirit, I suggest that Democrats and Republicans can successfully work together to create personal savings accounts for all Americans outside the Social Security system, an idea that politicians from both political parties have supported for years and that The Post's editorial page recently endorsed ["Up From the Depths," editorial, Nov. 27]. For the first time since the Great Depression, our country's savings rate has fallen into negative territory, with more than half of...

Raising retirement age or reducing benefits can't be ruled out if the Social Security system is to be saved from going bust, Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday. "All of these things are on the table to find some way to make certain that Social Security is solvent," said Rangel, who is poised to take control of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Rangel (D-Harlem) discussed the fate of Social Security - which some have estimated will have a cash-flow problem as soon as 2017 and run out of money by 2040 - during a Manhattan breakfast talk sponsored by...

THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. Bush has three years yet to run, but this season of scandal and disillusionment is an opportune moment for conservatives to start thinking seriously about the post-Bush era--and particularly how to fashion a domestic policy from the wreckage of Bush-style, big-government conservatism. Thanks to the abiding weakness of the Democratic party, Republicans haven't yet paid a political price for insider-friendly appropriation bills, Medicare boondoggles, or the smog of semi-corruption rising from the party's cozy relationship with KStreet. But even if the GOP's majority survives the next election cycle, conservatives shouldn't kid themselves: President Bush's domestic...

Well, it happened friday (July 22nd)when my life came to a sudden stop with me walking on stage at the Atlanta Civic Center with the President of the United States. Just writing this it seems to have been a very sureal moment...I'm having difficulty remembering it all. For some reason I was selected from the state of Georgia to represent seniors and discuss SS reform. It started two weeks ago with repeated phone calls from the WH asking me questions. Funny thing..the first call came in and when I saw it was "unknown caller" I just let the machine pick...

A generation's future hangs in the balanceIf you're in your 20s or 30s, why should you care about retirement when it's more than three decades away? Because if Congress doesn't act now to reform Social Security in this session, our generation will not enjoy one of the most cherished entitlements sought by all working Americans. The problem with Social Security is a simple mathematical issue: There are fewer people paying into the system and more people taking out. And it's getting worse.People are living longer and having fewer children. The result is that the number of workers paying Social Security...

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER NANCY PELOSI VS. HOUSE MINORITY LEADER NANCY PELOSI  In March, Pelosi Was Against "Robbing" Social Security Trust Fund:Pelosi: "We Must Stop Robbing Social Security Trust Fund Of Its Money To Pay For Other Things ..." (Fox News, "Fox News Sunday," 3/6/05) Today, Pelosi Finds "Nothing Wrong" With It:Pelosi: "There's Nothing Wrong With Social Security Lending Money With The Prospect Of Returning It." (Keith Koffler, "Pelosi Says Current System Of Borrowing Surplus Is Sound," CongressDaily PM, 6/24/05)

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THE DEMOCRATS are positively giddy over their success in foiling President Bush's Social Security plan. As a political matter, perhaps they have reason to cheer: Polls show Americans dubious about his proposed changes, and the president appears suddenly open to solutions that do not include his signature personal accounts. Yesterday he blessed a plan by Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) to introduce a Social Security bill that tackles solvency and does not offer personal accounts. (He'll do that in a separate measure.) But after the confetti settles, Democrats need to ask themselves: Now what? Having beaten back private accounts, as...

SACRAMENTO — A coalition of media companies and government watchdog groups, reacting to rumors of losses at some big hedge funds, are clamoring to get two of California's biggest public pension funds to disclose more details of their holdings in exotic investments. The California First Amendment Coalition on Tuesday filed requests under the state public records law with the $182-billion California Public Employees' Retirement System and the $63-billion University of California pension and endowment fund, seeking information about debt levels at the hedge funds they invest in. They also ask for data on management fees and types of hedge funds...

DAY 14 AFTER PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES SOCIAL SECURITY PROPOSAL; DEMOCRATS TO CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS: COME UP WITH A PLAN   "Two weeks after President Bush outlined a clear course to permanently strengthen Social Security for future generations, Democrats have yet to offer anything more than angry political attacks. It's disappointing Democrats still don't understand they are the minority party because of their failure to offer a positive agenda, and even former Democrat leaders agree that their party's obstructionism is not a substitute for real ideas.  If Democrats want to maintain any credibility, they need to stop saying 'no' and start coming to the negotiating...

DAY 7 AFTER PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES SOCIAL SECURITYPROPOSAL; PRESIDENT CLINTON TO FELLOW DEMOCRATS: GET A PLAN "Bill Clinton's call to Democrats to stand up and address the issue of Social Security is a refreshing reminder that he and former Democrat Senators Moynihan, Kerrey and Breaux understood the importance of strengthening Social Security. The Pelosi-Reid Democrats of today should learn from their predecessors and set aside their agenda of obstruction. It's not only a losing political strategy, but Americans deserve leaders of both parties who lead with principle rather than partisan antics."-Tracey Schmitt, RNC Press Secretary  President George W. Bush: "[H]ow Come...

A very famous leader said the following. Who was it? The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief.....The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole our relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of a sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America. A. Thomas Jefferson B. Ronald Reagan C. Attila the Hun D. The Ultimate Hero...

DAVID BRODER, THE POLITICAL columnist for the Washington Post, wrote last week that President Bush "has become the victim of overreach." Former vice president Al Gore has said Bush and congressional Republicans have a different problem, their "lust for power." Both are wrong. Bush's biggest problem--indeed the striking feature of his second term--is the Democrats' lust for obstruction.They have answered Bush's plans for Social Security reform, his judicial nominations, and even his choice of John Bolton to become United Nations ambassador with lockstep opposition. "There is still potential for the ice to break," a White House official says. And President...

HARRY REID AND THE DEMOCRATS' SOCIAL SECURITY DOUBLE STANDARDDemocrats Have Tried To Keep Themselves And Select Government Workers Out Of Social Security System ______________________________________________   "Senator Reid has asserted that Social Security is the 'most successful program in the history of the world,' yet he wrote legislation allowing himself and other members of Congress to stay out of the Social Security system. While the President is working to reform Social Security for future generations, it's unfortunate that Harry Reid is playing partisan politics instead of being part of a policy solution. Political expediency is not an agenda."-Brian Jones, RNC Communications...

PRESIDENT BUSH NEEDS AN EXIT strategy on Social Security. With luck, he may never have to use it. There's still a chance a sweeping reform bill will pass this year. But despite Bush's valiant efforts to sell Congress and the nation on the idea of modernizing Social Security, the prospects are dim. History will surely vindicate Bush for trying to solve a serious national problem before it becomes a staggering mess. What's required now, however, is that he be ready to accept defeat in a manner that saves Republicans from losses in the 2006 election and allows him to pursue...

"SILLY SOCIAL SECURITY THING"? Democrats Too Busy To Work With President To Strengthen Social Security ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Democrats Have Other Priorities Than Social Security:   Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) Said She's Got "More Important Things To Ask About Than This Silly Social Security Thing." "Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) managed to stir up some trouble last week at the Joint Economic Committee hearing chaired by Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.). Testifying before the committee was Harvey Rosen, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Sanchez was evidently fed up with the contents of the hearing. 'I've more important things to ask about...

Washington -- Who killed Social Security overhaul? A: Harry Reid. B: George W. Bush. C: AARP. D: Monica Lewinsky. Answer: D. Seven years ago, the first Baby Boomer president traveled the country to warn that his generation's impending retirement -- 76 million people, equal to the populations of California, Texas and Florida combined -- would bankrupt the generations to follow. "It would be unconscionable if we failed to act," President Bill Clinton said at a forum in 1998, when he made fixing the nation's retirement program a top priority of his second term. Clinton's efforts then, in light of President...

Sometimes you need to be reminded of where you came from to understand where you're going. The Club for Growth is giving one senator such a reminder today with the launch of an ad campaign designed to send a simple message: Higher taxes are not the answer for Social Security reform. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina came to the Senate with a strong record of cutting taxes to support increased freedom and economic growth. But in the debate on Social Security reform, Mr. Graham has suffered a sort of economic amnesia. He is proposing a large tax increase, in...