Social Security Reform - Personal Accounts To Be "O P T I O N A L !"

As I listened to the raging debate on C-SPAN Friday, I was reminded once again that the Democrats are truly the party of "NO" - I didn't hear a positive peep from any democrat present.

I visited the "AARP" blog on Saturday, and was amused to see the blatant hatred and distrust most responders displayed toward anything proposed by President Bush - especially Social Security which will not affect these seniors! One woman (Gail) wrote an article saying that she really wants her kids and grand kids to have a CHOICE vis-a-vis personal accounts, and she was just hammered by over 300 angry respondents, calling her names (like "Neo-con Bushite" and "Rich B*tch"), threatening her and making outlandish claims as to the nature of Bush's plan.

At 43, I will probably not realize much by this plan, but I want MY kid to have this choice - and yet the Democrats simply can't stop the finger-pointing, number-jumbling shell-game long enough to take an honest look.

From an Associated Press article in USATODAY.com:

"A White House fact sheet issued during Bush's news conference Thursday night referred to an approach authored by Robert C. Pozen, a private economist. In testimony before Congress earlier this week, Pozen said a plan along the lines that he advocates could erase roughly 70% of Social Security's long-term deficit."

"While avoiding all talk of details, Bush renewed his support for that approach in an appearance in suburban Falls Church, Va., during the day."

""I know that we ought to be able to say in a new system, as we fix the safety net for future generations, that you must receive benefits equal to or greater than the benefits enjoyed by today's seniors," he said."

"At the same time, he added that one way to assure the long-term solvency of the program was to "have the benefits for low-income workers in a future system grow faster than benefits for those who are better off.""