Social Security

Lift a Pint for Coalitions

The Social Security reform debate might transform the partisan culture in Washington.

Retiring in Chile

During his visit here last month, President Bush pointed out that the Chilean pension model was a "great example" for Social Security reform in the United States.

A False Start on Social Security

White House and Congressional budget leaders have been floating the idea that it won't require a major increase in the federal budget deficit. This is dangerously misguided. Unwilling to raise taxes, Congress and the administration will have to borrow well over $1 trillion to turn the president's wish into reality.

White House Looking for Ways to Ease Opposition to Social Security Overhaul

The Bush administration is looking at new ideas for cutting benefits that would hit wealthy retirees harder than those in the middle or bottom ranks of wage-earners.

Inventing a Crisis

Contrary to what the privatizers are saying, we don't have to destroy Social Security in order to fix it.

Social Security Scares

The annual report of the Social Security system's trustees reveals a system in pretty good financial shape. In fact, it would take only modest injections of money to maintain that system's current benefit levels for at least the next 75 years.

Borrow, Speculate and Hope

The Bush administration's Social Security proposal will rely on borrowing trillions, putting the money in the stock market and hoping.

Social Security Reform, With One Big Catch

The idea that letting people invest some of their Social Security money in the stock market will allow for higher returns is as flawed as a perpetual motion machine.

Bracing for Battle, Bush to Move Slowly on Social Security

The Bush administration, acknowledging the struggle it faces to overhaul the politically sensitive Social Security program, plans to build support with the public and lawmakers gradually and will not rush out a proposal of its own, senior administration officials said yesterday.

Bush Says Social Security Plan Would Reassure Markets

President Bush continued to lay the groundwork for a strong effort by the White House to overhaul Social Security.

Bush Puts Social Security at Top of Economic Conference

President Bush called for a reduction in "frivolous lawsuits" while his economic team laid out the arguments for overhauling Social Security and the tax code.

Social Security Underestimates Future Life Spans, Critics Say

Many population experts say that Americans' life expectancy will increase rapidly in the 21st century, making the program's financial problems even worse.

Wall St. Lobby Quietly Tackles Social Security

As President Bush plans to funnel Social Security funds into privately held investment accounts, Wall Street has begun a muted lobbying campaign.

Social Security Agency Is Enlisted to Push Its Own Revision

The Social Security Administration is preparing a campaign to convince the public that private accounts are needed.

Little Black Lies

President Bush's claim that we must privatize Social Security to avert an imminent crisis has evidently fallen flat. So now he's playing the race card.

Details Cloud Support for Social Security Plan

President Bush has wide support for his argument that Social Security needs dramatic change to meet its obligations to future retirees, but there remains considerable skepticism about his plan to let people invest a portion of their contribution to the program in the stock market, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Social Security Dodge

However dire your view of the Social Security situation, it's far better to deal with the problem now than wait until it's bigger and therefore more difficult to address.

Bush Says Private Accounts Are a Part of the Solution

WASHINGTON-The president admits that the accounts won't make Social Security solvent but says diverting funds for younger workers promotes ownership.

How to Retire Rich

In his zeal to privatize Social Security, President Bush is obscuring better approaches to a comfortable retirement for all Americans.

Introducing Private Investments to the Safety Net

Americans born after 1949 would be confronted with a very different Social Security system under President Bush's plan.

Chile's Retirees Find Shortfall in Private Plan

Chileans are finding that their pension system, which President Bush has cited as a model for his overhaul of Social Security, is falling short of expectations.

Privatizing Social Security: 'Me' Over 'We'

The most profound cost of privatizing Social Security has been wholly ignored: the systemic cost to our public way of life. By turning part of a public social insurance and pension policy into a private bet in which where personal and private decisions determine who does well and who does badly, we do irreparable harm to our democratic "common ground."

Many Unhappy Returns

The stock-return numbers that the privatizers of Social Security use to buoy their claims don't add up.

Revamping Social Security

Experts Disagree on Severity of Shortfall's Consequences

Gambling With Your Retirement

President Bush wants Americans to take a loan from the government and use it to buy stocks, and if that turns out to have been a mistake - well, too bad.

Social Security Plan Hinges on the Peg

The challenge awaiting President Bush is to offer a plan for restoring the Social Security system to financial balance.

A Personal Burden

SANTIAGO, Chile-As the Social Security debate heats up in the United States, many are looking south to Chile, where nearly a quarter century of experience with privatization hasn't settled the question of how to best construct an old-age safety net.

Mr. President, Let's Share the Wealth

My idea of how to fix Social Security goes by the infelicitous name "asset-based welfare."

Labor Presses Case Against Privatizing Social Security

NEW YORK, Jan. 18 -- The AFL-CIO on Tuesday stepped up its opposition to private Social Security accounts, accusing Wall Street's main trade group, the Securities Industry Association, of campaigning in favor of policy changes that would put workers' retirement at risk while showering billions of dollars in fees on SIA members.

White House Press Conference on Social Security

The following is the transcript of the White House news conference on Social Security as recorded by Federal News Service Inc.

Figuring a Social Security Benefit Under Bush's Plan

Private accounts are intended to provide potentially higher rewards, but two factors could erode those expected benefits.

Sweden's Take on Private Pensions

Sweden, long known for its cradle-to-grave welfare state, has already embraced a pension system that partly resembles White House proposals for Social Security.

Spearing the Beast

President Bush's plan for our retirement may be social, but it doesn't supply security.

The $600 Billion Man

At issue in the Social Security debate is what kind of society America should be.

A New Idea for Social Security

The debate over what we should do, if anything, with the Social Security system is heating up. A political campaign-style assault has already begun; in the weeks and months ahead, prepare to be buried in markedly different versions of the truth. If you are like me, you hunger for something better from the political class.

At Heart of Social Security Debate, a Misunderstanding

Confusion over the Social Security trust fund system works is frustrating Republicans who are siding with President Bush.

Republicans Consider Slowing Benefits Growth for Most

President Bush and other officials are gingerly promoting the idea of reducing future Social Security benefits as a way to cut costs.

Who Wins in a New Social Security?

Would a new social security system retain the traditional approach of redistributing income from the more affluent to those in need?

Some Inheritance

President Bush always gets a big round of applause for promising that the money in a private account for Social Security could be passed on to one's heirs. If those happy clappers only knew the details.

Add-On Accounts Add No Value

The latest compromise in President Bush's bid to privatize Social Security pleases neither side and fails to address the real problem.

It's 'Private' vs. 'Personal' in Social Security Debate

One of the most ferocious struggles is over language, whether President Bush wants to create "personal" or "private" accounts.

Private Accounts, Public Accountability

The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, should be seriously concerned about the details of President Bush's Social Security proposal.

Bush as Robin Hood

Democrats have good reason to be aghast at President Bush's new proposal for Social Security. Someone has finally called their bluff.

Social Security: Help for the Poor or Help for All?

In choosing to preserve benefits for the less well off, President Bush has reopened a battle over what Social Security is about.

The Final Insult

Mr. Bush likes to play dress-up, but when it comes to privatizing Social Security, his Robin Hood costume just doesn't fit.