Falls Church News-Press

President Bush Brings Social Security Debate to = Falls=20 Church

The debate over Social Security reform came into Falls Church = last=20 Friday, with no less than President Bush showing up to promote his = "private accounts" plan, and Rep. Jim Moran, who represents the = area in=20 the U.S. Congress, countering with a forum of his own.

President Bush took the final stages of his 60 day campaign for = Social=20 Security reform to the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church = last=20 Friday, attending a morning public meeting in front of a packed = house.=20 Many of the guests were young working adults, under 40, the age = group Bush=20 believes will gain the most from his proposed Social Security = personal=20 accounts plan.

The visit followed Bush=E2=80=99s nationally televised press = conference the=20 night before =E2=80=93 the first of its kind in over a year = =E2=80=93 when he introduced=20 the concept of means testing to Social Security with what he = called=20 "progressive indexing." The new idea would alter how Social = Security=20 benefits are calculated for people depending on their income.

Currently, benefits are calculated by taking the average income = from a=20 worker=E2=80=99s three most productive years, then calculating the = average growth=20 of American wages between their most productive years and their = retirement=20 to get a final figure for their benefits.

Under the proposed changes, the lowest 30% of workers, now = earning=20 $20,000 a year, wouldn=E2=80=99t see any change in their = calculations. But those=20 earning $90,000 or more, currently the maximum income taxed by = social=20 security, would instead have the rate of growth for their benefits = pegged=20 to inflation, which generally increases at a slower rate than = wages. Those=20 earning between $20,000 and $90,000 would have their benefits = calculated=20 on a sliding scale between wages and inflation.

But while morning headlines focused on the new proposal, = criticizing=20 the plan as a cut in benefits=E2=80=93the headline on = Friday=E2=80=99s Washington=20 Post read, =E2=80=9CBush Social Security Plan Would Cut = Future=20 Benefits=E2=80=9D=E2=80=93there was little mention of progressive = indexing at the meeting=20 in Falls Church.

Taking questions from a panel of invited guests, the president = instead=20 focused on discussing personal savings accounts, talking up the = possible=20 benefits of investment and attempting to counter growing public = concern=20 about the safety of investing.

Outside the event, supporters of the president=E2=80=99s social = security plan,=20 stood along Annandale road, holding signs and waving at passing = cars.

Matt Lewis, from Generations Together, an organization = supporting the=20 implementation of private accounts, echoed the president=E2=80=99s = assertion that=20 many young people don=E2=80=99t expect Social Security to be there = for them.

He said that it was too soon to talk about the idea of = progressive=20 indexing, insisting that the details would be worked out in = Congress, but=20 he was enthusiastic about the overall proposal.

A handful of protesters showed up, as well, but many more = attended a=20 nearby forum sponsored by Rep. Moran criticizing the President's = plan.

At the scene, Bob Ritter, a 28 year resident of the Falls = Church area,=20 said that he first heard about the president=E2=80=99s speaking = when he showed up=20 to drop his daughter off at the preschool program at the center. = He=20 immediately went home, made a sign and returned to the street in = time to=20 hold it up while the president=E2=80=99s motorcade arrive.

Following the president=E2=80=99s visit, Rep. Moran, in whose = 8th District the=20 president held his event, challenged the Bush Social Security = proposal at=20 a town hall meeting at Providence Recreation Center, joined by = former=20 acting Social Security Commissioner Bill Halter.

Moran criticized the personal accounts as a risky way to handle = retirement. =E2=80=9CSocial Security isn=E2=80=99t an investment = account. It is a national=20 insurance account that will be there when we need it,=E2=80=9D he = said.

Moran said that he wasn=E2=80=99t completely against the idea = of means testing,=20 but he said he is concerned that by making Social Security a = program=20 primarily benefiting the very poor, there would be less support = for it=20 among the general public. =E2=80=9CBush's plan is basically = designed to dismantle=20 Social Security,=E2=80=9D he said.

He pointed to the recent Congressional budget vote that reduced = money=20 for the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program, = and gained=20 very little public acknowledgement, an example of how programs = construed=20 as welfare-based garner less public support.

Halter followed Moran with a criticism of Bush's private = accounts plan,=20 saying that it would create more debt, rather than shoring up a = system=20 facing future shortfalls. =E2=80=9CThe proposal shortens the life = of the trust=20 fund,=E2=80=9D he said.

While there still has yet to be a specific proposal about the = private=20 accounts, according to a report released by the Brookings = Institution=20 authored by top economists Peter A. Diamond and Peter R. Orszag, = some=20 possible proposals could require as much as $7 trillion in = transfers over=20 the next 75 years. The present social security shortfall over the = next 75=20 years is estimated at $4 trillion.

Despite officially ending his 60 day tour last week, Bush has = continued=20 to promote his Social Security plan, traveling to Mississippi on = Tuesday=20 to promote his plan at another community meeting.

Results released Tuesday in a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll showed = that the=20 percentage of people who disapprove of Bush=E2=80=99s handling of = Social Security=20 was at its highest point ever at 58% to 35% approving. The = proposal of=20 means testing benefits also received low marks with 54% of people = polled=20 disapproving and only 38% approving. The margin of sampling error = is +-=20 3%.

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President Bush Brings Social Security Debate to = Falls=20 Church