President Bushís May 2, 2001 remarks regarding sweeping Social Security changes are edited a month after September 11, 2001 in light of billions of dollars, nearly 170 billion, of Social Security surplus being allocated to the airline bailout, defense, homeland security, and intelligence agencies. Editorís additions are bracketed.
In the Rose Garden
[In the Briefing Room]
THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated.
Mr. Secretary, thank you for coming. Members of the newly-formed
Social Security Commission, I want to thank you all for being here.
And I want to thank your family members who are here, as well.
Social Security
is one of the greatest achievements of the American government,
and one of the deepest commitments to the American people.
For more than six decades it has protected our elderly against poverty
and assured young people of a more secure future.
It must continue to do this important work for decades to come.
Yet, it
has been apparent for many years that Social Security, itself, is becoming
insecure. Social Security was designed for an era when few
Americans lived much past the age of 65, and when families of three or
four children were more than the exception.
When Social
Security was created there was about 40 workers paying Social Security
taxes for every one retiree receiving benefits. Today, there are
three workers for every retiree; soon, there will be two. Long life
is a blessing. Smaller families are an individual choice. But
the consequence of this blessing and this choice is that the Social
Security payroll tax, which was once 2 percent, has now passed 12 percent.
Economists calculate
that it will have to rise past 18 percent if the baby boomers are to receive
the same benefits that Social Security has promised, unless we
take steps soon to reform the way Social Security is financed.
The threat to the
stability of Social Security has been apparent for decades. For years,
political leaders have agreed that something must be done. But nothing
has been done. We can postpone action no longer.
Social Security is a challenge now; if we fail
to act, it will become a crisis. We must save Social Security and
we now have the opportunity to do so.
Our government
will run large budget surpluses over the next 10 years. These surpluses
provide an opportunity to move to a stronger Social Security system.
Two months ago, in my address to Congress, I described the principles
that must guide any reform of Social Security. First,
Social Security reform must preserve the benefits of all
current retirees and those nearing retirement.
Second,
Social Security reform must return the Social Security system to sound
financial footing. Third, Social Security reform must offer personal
savings accounts to younger workers who want them. Today,
young workers who pay into Social Security might as well be saving their
money in their mattresses. That's how low the return is on
their contributions. And the return will only decline further -- maybe
even below zero -- if we do not proceed with reform.
Personal savings
accounts will transform Social Security from a government IOU into personal
property and real assets; property that workers will own in their own names
and that they can pass along to their children. Ownership,
independence, access to wealth should not be the privilege of a few.
They're the hope of every American, and we must make them the foundation
of Social Security.
Today,
I [have named] am naming a Presidential Commission to
turn these principles into concrete reforms. This task is not easy,
but the mandate is clear: strengthen Social Security and make its promise
more certain and valuable for generations to come. I have asked the
Commission to deliver its report later this fall.
Social Security
does not belong to any one political party, so the Commission
is drawn from both parties. Social Security does not belong
to the government or to the politicians, and so my Commission
has members from many different walks of life. It will be
[C]haired by two outstanding Americans: Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
and Richard Parsons, of AOL-Time Warner.
[Eliminate all
transparent, ass-kissing drivel] Senator Moynihan has
been aptly described as the nation's best thinker among politicians since
Lincoln, and its best politician among thinkers since Jefferson.
A profound mind, a compassionate heart and a far-seeing imagine have distinguished
him throughout his career.
Our task
today is to preserve what is the best in Social Security, while updating
it, and for a new time. And nobody will do that job better than this
great student of Social Security's history, and stalwart champion of Social
Security's principles.
As Co-Chief
Operating Officer of AOL-Time Warner, Richard Parsons is one of the leaders
of this nation's Information Age economy. Few people have served
more tours of duty in the American government and business; a senior
aide in the Ford administration; managing partner of a distinguished law
firm; CEO of a major savings bank, before becoming president of Time Warner.
Mr. Parsons
serves his community as ably as he's served his country. He chairs the
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, where he mobilized
the creativity of the private sector to bring jobs and opportunity to people
in need. And he sits on the boards of Howard University and the Lincoln
Center.
Richard
Parsons represents in our time the spirit of business statesmanship at
its highest. Fourteen other fine Americans have joined the Moynihan-Parsons
Commission; seven of them are Republicans and seven are Democrats.
They include a former aide to Robert Kennedy and a former aide to Ronald
Reagan; political leaders, entrepreneurs, eminent experts on the Social
Security system.
Every one
of these fine men and women is passionately committed to the safety, success
and long-term security of Social Security.
I'm giving
this Commission a great task and its members have my full faith.
When it makes its report, the Congress and I will face
some serious decisions, but we must be inspired by the example of the founder
of Social Security, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
In his Fireside Chat of September 1934, shortly before Congress enacted Social Security, he warned that there will always be those frightened by boldness and cowed by the necessity for making decisions. They will complain, he said, that all we have done is unnecessary and subject to great risks.
But now,
as then, bold action and serious decisions are necessary and we
in our time must rededicate ourselves
to the great ideal Roosevelt defined 67 years ago:
greater freedom and greater security for the average man
than he has ever [been]known before in the history of
America. That's our charge and we must keep it.
[God Bless America]
(Applause.)