Social Security Needs Help

Social Security Needs Help

The Senate unanimously agreed Tuesday that strengthening Social Security was "a vital national priority" but split acrimoniously along party lines on what to do about it in the first votes on President Bush's plans.

In one exception to the party divide, five Republicans broke ranks and voted with the Democrats in favor of a resolution declaring, "Congress should reject any Social Security plan that requires deep benefit cuts or a massive increase in debt."

There are four ways to solve the problem:

• Raise taxes - the favorite solution of Democrats, but the Republicans are not going to go along with just raising taxes
• Cut benefits (they just said no to that)
• Borrow the money (they just said no to that)
• Private Accounts, where the money is truly in a "lock box" where the government can't spend it, and where compound interest will let it grow.

Democrats argue that Bush cannot establish private investment accounts, his signature proposal for revamping the retirement program, without cutting benefits or adding to the federal budget deficit.

They argue that, but they are wrong.

"They're nervous. They're worried. But their hands are tied as long as the president sticks to privatization," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, the top Democratic spokesman on the issue in the Senate.

The only reason their hands are tied is because the Democratic leadership won't let Dems attempt to work out a compromise solution that includes Private Accounts as one key component.

The vote on the resolution, offered by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was 50-50, with Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania joining with the chamber's Democratic minority.

RINOs

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., told Democrats that rather than offering a plan for overhauling the giant pension program, "You just put out there amendments which are for the purposes of political protection. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

They have no shame.

GOP Bloggers notes White House praises Senate SoSec vote and then says For more than four years the MSM has been mis-reporting on the President. They still don't understand him; they don't understand that when President Bush says he's going to do something, he keeps at it until its done. Social Security is the main reform effort of President Bush's second term and he will get it, by and by.

This is progress. The Dems have gone from "There is no crisis" to "Strengthening Social Security is a vital national priority, just don't fix it by establishing Private Accounts." Now all we have to do is peel away a few that think solving a vital national priority is more important.