Bad advice to Bush blamed for Social Security struggle

Washington Times ^ | Mar 11 05 | Ralph Hallow

[churchillbuff]

A senior Republican senator said, "The message coming out of the White House is that we'll fix Social Security by raising your taxes and cutting your retirement benefits and, to get something passed, we'll forget about the personal retirement accounts we promised."

[churchillbuff]

The Republicans should roll the Democrats, not cave to them.

[bahblahbah]

I blame it on horrible salesmanship from the president and no backbone from the congress.

[churchillbuff]

Conservatives complain that, in order to appear open to compromise with Democrats, the administration has refused to rule out raising the cap on payroll taxes, cutting retirement benefits or eliminating private investment accounts.
Mr. Pence said House conservatives adamantly oppose those options. "We're prepared to support government's borrowing money to get the fundamental reform of personal accounts. It's like refinancing your mortgage: You pay points upfront but save a lot more in the long run," he said.
"If we take personal retirement accounts off the table, as Democrats want, we are simply in the old tax-increase, benefits-cut trap," Mr. Pence said.

[dead]

A senior Republican senator said, "The message coming out of the White House is that we'll fix Social Security by raising your taxes and cutting your retirement benefits and, to get something passed, we'll forget about the personal retirement accounts we promised."

I don’t believe that’s the message.

And if “a senior Republican senator” wants to convince me otherwise, he should grow a set of testicles and put his name on his statement.

It’s probably just McCain. Again.

[Bahbah]

I don’t believe that’s the message.

It's not the message I have heard. I bet you are right, it's McCain.

[churchillbuff]

he should grow a set of testicles and put his name on his statement."""

Well, in the next paragraph, Congressman Pence puts his name to pretty much that statement. I'll admit I'm surprised --- shocked -- to hear that there's been talk (on the GOP side) of pulling the personal retirement accounts. They're the point of the whole reform plan, I thought. If we don't get them, leave the whole mess alone, I say.

[ex-snook]

Private accounts will fix the social security funding problem is beginning to sound like Iraq has WMD.

[hflynn]

Come on! A senior Republican senator invented by the Washington Times said what?

The Democrats have already said if Bush takes private accounts off the table they are willing to fix SS which they publicly insist doesn't need fixing.

Sorry Demwits your losing and losing big time.

[Terpfen]

Thing is, it was a "senior Republican Senator," not a Representative, that made the statement in the first place.

[churchillbuff]

Thing is, it was a "senior Republican Senator," not a Representative, that made the statement in the first place."""

I understand, but they also quote - by name - a congressman who implies that these kinds of cave-in deals are being discussed.

[Terpfen]

So private account reform got smuggled to Syria?

[ARCADIA]

This thing is a dog. The Republicans should run as far from this lame proposal as they can possibly get. There is only one way to fix Social Security, and that is by increasing our taxable domestic economic activity. Re-industrialize the country, reduce our dependence on foreign goods, increase our workforce, and the problem will largely manage itself.

Social Security isn't the desease, it is just another symptom of a failing economic policy.

[Terpfen]

And I'm glad he did. However, #5's point was that there's some RINO Senator hiding behind anonymity.

[churchillbuff]

This is the first I've heard that the administration has hinted they might pull the private account element. Only this morning, there was a report that Bush was touting the private accounts as a help to African Americans. So I don't know where this talk of pulling the private accounts is coming from -- maybe some traitorous RINOS lower down in the adminsitration.

[Brilliant]

Social security is irrepairable. He should just wash his hands of it and let the Dems take credit for destroying it.

[Terpfen]

Bingo--this is like the reports that Bush was dropping SS reform until later in the year because he wasn't getting traction. No such thing has happened.

[churchillbuff]

Re-industrialize the country"""

How? High tariffs?

[Alberta's Child]

Social Security isn't the desease, it is just another symptom of a failing economic policy.

Social Security is the disease. As someone astutely pointed out on another thread about this subject a few days ago, a government program that has faced "a future crisis" every decade since its inception is a farce and simply cannot be perpetuated.

[My2Cents]

A senior Republican senator said, "The message coming out of the White House is that we'll fix Social Security by raising your taxes and cutting your retirement benefits and, to get something passed, we'll forget about the personal retirement accounts we promised."

Who said this!? Which "senior Republican senator"? I've never heard the White House say anything of the sort. It sounds to me like this guy is trying to under-cut the President.

We have enough problems with the Dimwads, why do we have to suffer fools in our own party?