Hickey: Bush Social Security Plan Makes No Sense

WASHINGTON – Campaign for America's Future Co-director Roger Hickey today urged President Bush and House Republicans to drop their reckless and needless Social Security privatization plan. New information released today by the Congressional Budget Office proves that the Social Security system is in decent financial shape.

The Bush Administration routinely touts a pessimistic outlook of Social Security and Medicare as evidence that Social Security should be dismantled and privatized. The March 2004 Social Security and Medicare trustees report claimed that Social Security would begin experiencing a fiscal shortfall in 2042, but the new CBO report extends that date by about a decade. The report also shows that the system's shortfall over the next 75 years will be only about two-thirds of what estimated by trustees.

STATEMENT BY ROGER HICKEY

The Bush Administration will say anything to overhaul Social Security into a risky private program. But today's report that says Social Security is in good shape debunks their doom and gloom arguments.

Today's report makes the Bush plan a harder sell. Republican candidates distanced themselves from Bush on Social Security in 2002, and the Bush privatization plan makes even less political sense now.

The American people want a strong Social Security system for future generations, and today's report tells us that is within our grasp. The biggest danger to Social Security is President Bush and his allies in Congress who want to privatize Social Security and cut guaranteed benefits.

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