2005 Year in Review

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President Bush's plan for Social Security

President Bush is going to speak his mind on Social Security tonight on TV. He might say that Democrats don't have a plan. One thing that the President is likely to say is that Democrats don't have a plan. Josh Marshall of the Talking Points Memo makes the point that this isn't true:

Wrong. Democrats do have a plan: it's called Social Security. And that's not mere rhetoric. It's an upfront, level-with-the-public statement of fact. What it means is that Democrats want to preserve Social Security as a defined-benefit system of social insurance. You can only say the Democrats have no plan if you take it as a given that the program must be radically restructured, like many of the talking heads in Washington. And Dems just don't agree.

In addition, as Mr. Marshall points out, Democrats (and Republicans) have frequently tweaked Social Security over the years and many are willing to do that again.

Support for President Bush's idea of personal accounts has dropped steadily as people understand that it means that Social Security would be phased out.

Incidentally, Josh Marshall's column (www.talkingpointsmemo.com) has been the best on the web for following the Social Security controversy. It is highly recommended.

by John Legler, Guest Columnist
April 28, 2005