Bush Reaffirms Plan to Privatize Social Security
On Day Social Security Emerges as Major Battle on Capitol Hill, Bush Reaffirms Plan to Privatize Social Security
Americans United Condemns Bush's latest pledge to pursue risky privatization scheme: "We need to cut entitlement spending."
July 11, 2006 (Washington D.C.) - On the same day Social Security emerged as a major battle on Capitol Hill, President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to privatizing Social Security with the release of his administration's Mid-Session Budget Review. Americans United blasted Bush's renewed budget proposal to divert $721 billion from the Social Security trust fund to private accounts over the next 10 years - virtually the same proposal which was overwhelmingly rejected by the American public in 2005. Americans United, which led the fight to defeat the same risky investment scheme last year, called the effort ‘lipstick on a pig' and assured Bush and his allies in Congress that they have already begun to mobilize in 20 states to take up the fight again until privatization is taken off the table once and for all.
During his White House speech today, President Bush also insisted on the "need" to slash benefits: "[T]he spending for these [entitlement] programs is growing faster than inflation, faster than the economy, and faster than our ability to pay for them. To solve the problem, we need to cut entitlement spending." Bush's full remarks can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060711-1.html
"The President could not be more blatant in his intentions of gutting middle-class benefits," said Brad Woodhouse, spokesman for Americans United. "For Bush to once again roll out the same old reckless and hugely unpopular privatization plan signals just how hopelessly out of touch he really is. Privatization was a terrible, irresponsible idea in 2005; it's every bit as bad today. Now Bush and his allies in Congress don't even deny the fact that privatization would mean massive benefit cuts for middle-class Americans or that it would send the already ballooning national debt to the point of no return. And nothing will change the fact that privatization wouldn't add a day to the life of Social Security - not one single day."
Bush's actions today reinforce his June 27th calls to overhaul Social Security when he assured his Washington D.C. audience that "now is the time" and that "If we can't get it done this year, I'm going to try next year. And if we can't get it done next year, I'm going to try the year after that."
The 2007 budget proposal the President submitted to Congress earlier this year set aside $712 billion to fund private accounts over the next 10 years. The cost estimates for the Bush-privatization proposal increased to $721 billion in the latest budget review.
"Make no mistake: President Bush intends fully to replace Social Security with a risky privatization scheme. Even after his privatization proposal was soundly defeated in 2005, this President had the audacity to insert the same plan to gut middle-class benefits into the budget proposal he submitted to Congress earlier this year. Now here we go again. Americans United is once again prepared to confront Bush's allies in Congress in their home districts and states until they take a stand one way or another on this disastrous privatization scheme."
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