Posted on 02/02/2005 2:28:12 PM PST by The Loan Arranger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the Senate on Tuesday predicted that President Bush's plan to revamp social security by diverting taxes into private investment accounts would fail to pass Congress.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid was speaking as Bush prepared to use his State of the Union address on Wednesday to argue for his proposals and then follow up with a five-state tour to campaign for the new investment accounts.
"President Bush should forget about privatizing Social Security," the Nevada Democrat said. "It will not happen. The sooner he comes to that realization, the better off we are."
Bush has yet to spell out details of his plan but hopes to build public support and win over some Democrats while shoring up support from his own Republicans who control Congress.
Without Democratic support, the plan will fail to win the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles which can block any major piece of legislation in the 100-member Senate.
Reid said none of the 44 Democrats in the Senate would back a plan that diverts Social Security taxes into accounts that workers would invest in stocks and bonds. Opponents argue it would only add to Social Security's financial problems, force big cuts in benefits and add to ballooning budget deficits.
But Bush and his supporters argue it will help preserve the retirement system for generations to come.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush wants bipartisan support and will talk about the problems facing Social Security as he travels Thursday and Friday to North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Arkansas and Florida.
"We hope that people will focus on solutions and what they're for, rather than trying to stand up and simply oppose things that they are against," McClellan said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Give me 10 minutes with the socialist pig. I'll straighten this out!
Quincy Adams Wagstaff
(paraphrased)
Yeah, but in 2006, we'll have a veto-proof majority (if they keep going this way), and the Rats trying to block this will kill them with the young voters for years. I KNOW that most of these kids are furious about Social Security, and there's not one kid I teach that believes it will be there for them.
He will get a lot of support from the media, who have been pretending since last November that there are NO PROBLEMS with the social security system. I wonder how many people will believe them after they declared the opposite was true for the last 50 years.
In any case, is a dangerous sort of challenge to issue, especially without qualification. He just said a few days ago that he was going to block the A.G. appointment, and then he backed down two days later. That makes him look weak and foolish.
This strikes me as lose-lose. If he retreats, he'll be seen as a man whose word is worthless. If he stands fast, he'll be seen as an obstructionist. The media didn't save his sorry *ss over the Gonzalez affair, and I doubt if they'll do it on this either.
hahahahaha!
nikos
Because in the new scheme of things, they're the Lords, and we're just the commoners.
"Bring it on"
You tell 'em Harry, that was worth 200,000 votes for the Pubs at mid-term elections.
"[M]ost of us have no problem with taking a small amount of the Social Security proceeds and putting it into the private sector."
A DemonRAT flipping to spite President Bush? Say it ain't so, Joe.
Harry Reid is a flyweight wannabe. He's the face in front of the curtain. We know who the puppet master is, and her name ain't Harry.
Reid and the 'Rats: "All YOUR Social Security Taxes are belong to US!"
Sooner or later, the pubbies will have to grow the balls to face down a filibuster. A 60 seat majority is a pipe dream which would require a minimum of two election cycles.
Won't happen, SS "reform." Sorry righties.
He's writing some checks his ass can't cash.
Government employees in states like California allow people to opt out of SS altogether.
They call it 'deferred compensation'. They do not pay into the pool, and neither does the state.
Why is this okay for some, and not for all. With as many people as California has on this plan, how can it not escapes somebody's attention back in DC on the right?
Both of my brothers are on it, and they are both flappin' their gums about Bush monkeying with SS. More than that, both of them have side businesses that are all cash, and they don't report the income.
Both want tax hikes. My dad is the same, and he for years earned thousands as an electrician on the side - all unreported.
Liberalism is a disease of whatever lobe of the brain is responsible for logic.
Cower? Nah; I just continue plotting for 2006.
That is what a minority leader is supposed to do. He has more nut in his shorts than Frist and Lott combined.
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