Privatization of Social Security: Not Dead Yet
13 August 2006Here is an important summary of recent events relating to the resurrection of truly terrible public policy, the privatization of Social Security. This summary is courtesy of the August 4 issue of Friday Alert, the weekly electronic newsletter of The Alliance of Retired Americans.
Despite what some may claim, Social Security privatization is not a dead issue to the Bush Administration. In a D.C. Superior Court room last week, Karl Rove was seen working on a PowerPoint presentation about Social Security reform while he waited to be dismissed from a jury pool. This week, new Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson touched on privatization in his first speech since taking office on July 10. Paulson told the Columbia University business school that “The biggest economic issue facing our country is the growth in spending on the major entitlement programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.†He went on to say that he would not run from complicated Social Security reform and admired President Bush’s courage in addressing the issue. Days before Paulson’s remarks, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report detailing how Social Security privatization would reduce guaranteed benefits and increase retirement risks for Baby Boomers. “The GAO report echoes what the American people have been telling President Bush for months now: Privatization of Social Security is a risky, costly idea and quite simply, we don’t want it,†said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance.
The Alaska Center for Public Policy has commented extensively on the problems with the privatization of Social Security in several blog postings during the last couple of years. See also the Social Security section of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for an excellent overview of these and related Social Security issues.
ldw