Posted by
Reeson on Monday, January 15, 2007 5:49:32 PM
It really bothers me that neither President Bush nor Vice-President Cheney has squashed the idea of an increase in the tax. Cheney was just on Fox News Sunday and, when asked about it, dodged the question. Excerpts from
OpinionJournal.com:
BY MIKE PENCEThe administration hasn't learned from last year. Despite electoral defeats, it is still advancing Social Security reform as an argument over solvency. The centerpiece of George Bush's plan was to have been personal retirement accounts for workers who wanted to establish their own nest egg--a much better deal for them and a down payment on the huge liabilities owed by the entire system. Unfortunately, his plan faltered.
The American people did not reject Social Security reform or personal retirement accounts. They rejected the entire debate and how it unfolded. They rejected the notion that the predominant goal was to make the numbers add up or, in the language of the wonks and actuaries, to make it "solvent." Such a yardstick expresses no opinion on how to fix an increasingly bankrupt program, and as a result, blesses both benefit cuts and tax increases alike.
While Mr. Bush has reiterated his opposition to tax increases, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has repeatedly said that everything is on the table for negotiations with the Democratic Congress. When Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked whether the White House was ruling out a tax increase in Social Security reform, he replied, "No, I'm not."
First, the administration needs to be clear that a Social Security compromise must reject tax increases of any kind.
Second, Social Security reform must be properly understood. It is not about achieving solvency; it is about improving the system so that it offers a better deal for younger Americans through personal savings accounts.
Third, the administration should submit a budget that fully protects the Social Security surplus from being used to subsidize government largesse, which Patrick Moynihan once described as "embezzlement." Voters have repeatedly said loudly and clearly that they object to raiding the Social Security surplus.