Bush RE-announces Social Security privatization and benefit cuts as ‘top domestic priority’
Americans United's warnings confirmed as President Bush RE-announces Social Security privatization and benefit cuts as ‘top domestic priority'
During CNBC interview, Bush confirms intentions of dismantling Social Security with a risky privatization scheme with promises to return to proposal with "private accounts" and "indexing benefits for wealthier Americans" -- the exact same proposal that was overwhelmingly rejected by the American public last year
Washington D.C. - Americans United said ‘we told you so' today in response to President Bush's confirmed intention of replacing Social Security with a risky privatization scheme during an interview with CNBC television on Monday. According to additional accounts from Reuters and Bloomberg, the President minced no words this week, confirming Americans United's repeated warnings - here, here, and here -- that: 1) Bush will return to overhauling Social Security as a top domestic priority for his last two years in office; 2) the President ‘still believes workers should have an option to put some of their retirement savings into private accounts;' and 3) that Bush's proposal will likely include ‘indexing benefits for wealthier Americans.' This is the exact same proposal that was overwhelmingly rejected by the American public last year - a proposal that would not add a single day to the life of Social Security and would slash guaranteed benefits for millions of middle-class Americans.
"President Bush has been hinting at a renewed effort to dismantle Social Security with a risky investment scheme for several months now, but this is the first time he has spelled out very clearly his intentions of returning to "private accounts" and "indexing benefits," which is just a fancy euphemism for middle-class benefit cuts," said Jeremy Funk, Press Secretary for Americans United. "This is the exact same proposal that was overwhelming rejected by the American public in 2005. It's the exact same proposal that the President himself admitted last year has nothing to do with the ‘solvency' of Social Security and would only make the financial condition of the program even worse. Nothing has changed - the President still believes in a philosophy of tearing down the entire house to fix the kitchen sink. And now that the President has dispelled any doubt that he intends to return to the same reckless and irresponsible privatization proposal from last year, Americans United will be calling on Members of Congress to take a stand - one way or another. We won't let up until Bush and his allies take privatization off the table once and for all."
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