A solution to private accounts

In their article on Social Security Choice says

1. You can never get more from any negotiation than your initial offer. The Administration’s Social Security reform proposal would allow workers to divert to PSSAs 4% of their current 6.2% Social Security tax, with a “cap” on contributions of $1000/year. Unfortunately, this plan is too small and too timid to generate much excitement. The proposal would not allow workers to accumulate real wealth, while the “cap” prevents Social Security reform from acting as an economic-growth-boosting cut in marginal tax rates.
2. President Bush’s suggestion that raising the “wage cap” on Social Security taxes was “on the table” was a breathtaking error in judgment..... “If you talk about raising taxes at all, soon all you can talk about is raising taxes.”

But then in another article they say Teddy senses that President Bush and the Republicans can be “rolled” on Social Security Reform the way they were on Education Reform in 2001. His belief is not irrational. In 2001, Bush wanted school vouchers and Teddy wanted more spending. Bush decided that he had to have a bill that session and therefore had to compromise. The “compromise” was…more spending.

Now Bush wants Personal Social Security Accounts and Teddy [Kennedy] wants higher taxes. Bush says that Social Security is in crisis. He also (incomprehensibly) suggests that raising the wage “cap” on Social Security taxes is “on the table”. Can anyone not understand why Teddy Kennedy is now licking his chops?

They are right that Bush got Kennedy's support on Education Reform by swapping vouchers and testing for more spending, but the Dems are still complaining that he never fully funded the more spending they thought they were going to get.

But if Bush plays his cards right, he can sucker Kennedy (and others) into supporting Private Accounts in exchange for raising the cap, and if he plays his cards right he can offer to raise it a little, and when they want him to raise it more, he can counter with raising the $1000 cap on contributions to the PSSAs. Increasing the cap on taxes might hurt the economy, but establishing PSSAs and increasing the contribution cap will be an economic-growth-boosting cut in marginal tax rates, which should counter it, and we would have PSSAs in place, helping the transition to an "ownership society".