Haste Makes Waste

President Bush knows that the longer people really study his plan for Social Security reform, the less they are going to like it, so he is urging congress to move quickly to complete his SSI coup de gras. This is how the PATRIOT act was passed. So quickly that most congressmen and women never even read the bill before voting for it. SSI reform is nothing to be rushed into. Six months or a year will not make a difference in the overall health of the plan. This is something I want Congress to think long and hard about before acting.

Bush Urges Haste on Social Security Reform

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Back from stroking U.S. allies in Europe, President Bush now is lobbying a home-front target: wary lawmakers returning from a long congressional break, where they heard their constituents' concerns about Social Security overhaul. The lawmakers got an earful from voters back home. Now, Bush wants them to listen to him.

"We need to act now to fix Social Security permanently," he said Saturday in a radio address aimed at Congress.

The president is making a fresh push for his plan to let younger workers put part of their Social Security payroll taxes in private investment accounts. He has taken that campaign to eight states and is continuing it next Friday in New Jersey and Indiana.

Bush is making the trips in hopes of persuading voters to pressure Congress to tackle the future solvency problems of the politically sensitive Social Security system. His message is twofold: reassure those born before 1950 that their Social Security benefits will not change in any way and tell younger workers that "Social Security is heading toward bankruptcy."

"Massive numbers of baby boomers, like me, will soon begin to retire," Bush said in his radio remarks. "People are living longer and benefits are scheduled to increase dramatically, and fewer workers will be paying into the system to support each retiree."

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