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To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (19106)	12/20/2004 5:40:16 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Bush says Social Security in crisis Monday, December 20, 2004 6:05:23 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) -- President Bush declared the nation's retirement system set up seven decades ago to be in crisis today and he plans to convince lawmakers on Capitol Hill that now is the time to change the way it is administered "Many times legislative bodies will not react unless the crisis is apparent, crisis is upon them. I believe the crisis is. And so, for a period of time, we're going to have to explain to members of Congress the crisis is here," Bush said at the second presidential news conference since winning a second term and the 17th of his presidency "It's a lot less painful to act now than if we wait," Bush said of his planned changes to the Social Security program But Bush declined to say specifically how he would make the difficult choices to change the way benefits are administered under the system, first created in 1935 under Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal The president again pledged that nothing will change for those already retired or "near retirement" as he sought to create private accounts for younger workers But he pointedly did not say what age he considers to be "near retirement." Several Social Security proposals have been floated, many of which would preserve current retirement benefits for those 55 and older Outside experts have estimated that transition costs associated with adding private accounts could total as much as $2 trillion over the first 10 years Critics say borrowing $2 trillion or so to finance the creation of individual Social Security investment accounts would likely become a fiscal disaster And they say that private accounts would potentially rip the safety net provided by Social Security. They contend the system's long-term shortfalls can be addressed by other policy changes, including raising the retirement age, raising payroll taxes or trimming benefits Asked which of those issues he would choose, Bush said he would not negotiate with himself in public but did repeat an earlier pledge not to raise payroll taxes "The law will be written in the halls of Congress. And I will negotiate with them, with the members of Congress. And they will want me to start playing my hand. Will you accept this? Will you not accept that?" Bush said Proponents of private accounts contend they would give current workers a floor of guaranteed benefits, while providing the opportunity to match or exceed current benefit levels by the time they reach retirement Under current law, revenues from Social Security payroll taxes are projected to outstrip benefits until 2018. Actuaries estimate the system would be able to continue paying full benefits until 2042 forexstreet.com

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (19106)	12/20/2004 5:44:38 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Treasury spokesman: no plans to revive 30-year bond Monday, December 20, 2004 10:34:11 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) -- The Bush administration has no plans to renew the 30-year bond, Treasury Department spokesman Rob Nichols said Monday. Asked if the administration was considering reissuing the 30-year bond to pay for planned changes to Social Security, Nichols said the government's policy had not changed and "there are no plans to bring back the 30-year bond."