Fed chief faces skeptic Democrats, urges Social Security red
Chairman Greenspan in the lion's den
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
From MSNBC, which, for some strange liberal / democratic friendly reason couldn't seem to get this article posted until after the normal news cycle, when they could very much hope it wouldn't be seen by the masses. Headline is linked:
Chairman Greenspan in the lion's den
Fed chief faces skeptic Democrats, urges Social Security redesign
Alan Greenspan endorsed private Social Security accounts in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.
By Tom Curry
National affairs writer
MSNBC
Updated: 3:47 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2005
WASHINGTON - Squaring off against Democratic critics of President Bush’s proposal to allow younger workers to put some of their Social Security tax payments into private retirement accounts, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave his cautious but emphatic endorsement to private accounts Wednesday.
He called personal accounts within Social Security “a good thing to do over the longer run.”
What was striking about Greenspan’s three hours of testimony to the Senate Banking Committee was not his caution — that, after all, is the temperament of the Fed chairman — but his tenacity.
Repeatedly, he made the case that the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system does not work, due to what he called “inexorable” demographic changes, an “unprecedented potential increase in the number of people leaving the work force” by retiring.
“The existing structure is not working,” he told Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who, like almost all congressional Democrats, opposes the private accounts idea.
The pay-as-you-go structure of Social Security, in which current workers pay for the benefits of current retirees, only works, Greenspan said, “if the population is growing sufficiently quickly, and longevity is growing only modestly.”
Essentially, he told the committee, America soon will have too few workers and too many retirees, with ever-increasing life spans.
No savings created
“Pay-as-you-go creates no savings,” he said. It “basically moves cash around.”
And he contended that private accounts within Social Security, which he described as a “forced savings” plan, would allow the U.S. economy to set aside savings to create capital investments which will pay for retirees’ living standards in future decades.
The crucial issue, he told Reed, is whether “we have the material goods and services that people will need to consume” in future decades.
... more at linked article
This other important quote from the article:
The normally placid Greenspan rose almost to the threshold of passion as he made a class-based argument by contending that private accounts would allow low-income people to become mini-capitalists — in his view, a very good thing.
Interesting that this story was basically kept out of the news until late in the news day. Articles in The Washington Times and other sources noted that the Democrats would be priming the public to get ahead of this expected testimony.
Obviously, Mr. Greenspan loves the idea of forced savings and private accounts, and the Democrats and lovers of the current Social Security system want that story minimized so that the public won't start clamoring for the medicine that Dr. Greenspan is prescribing.
Considering it's not been that long ago that Social Security was "the third rail" which would kill the political careers of anyone that might even hint at changing the system, we are moving ever closer to the changes that Pres. Bush has proposed and has been working to drum up grass roots support for. There's still a long way to go in the sales job and drafting of legislation that will be needed, but the writing is on the wall for those that are paying attention.
There's about to be serious howling from liberals as the old system is overhauled, and a new more sensical one will take its place. Be ready for another big Bush victory folks. It's on the way.
Chairman Greenspan in the lion's den
Fed chief faces skeptic Democrats, urges Social Security redesign
Alan Greenspan endorsed private Social Security accounts in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.
By Tom Curry
National affairs writer
MSNBC
Updated: 3:47 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2005
WASHINGTON - Squaring off against Democratic critics of President Bush’s proposal to allow younger workers to put some of their Social Security tax payments into private retirement accounts, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave his cautious but emphatic endorsement to private accounts Wednesday.
He called personal accounts within Social Security “a good thing to do over the longer run.”
What was striking about Greenspan’s three hours of testimony to the Senate Banking Committee was not his caution — that, after all, is the temperament of the Fed chairman — but his tenacity.
Repeatedly, he made the case that the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system does not work, due to what he called “inexorable” demographic changes, an “unprecedented potential increase in the number of people leaving the work force” by retiring.
“The existing structure is not working,” he told Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who, like almost all congressional Democrats, opposes the private accounts idea.
The pay-as-you-go structure of Social Security, in which current workers pay for the benefits of current retirees, only works, Greenspan said, “if the population is growing sufficiently quickly, and longevity is growing only modestly.”
Essentially, he told the committee, America soon will have too few workers and too many retirees, with ever-increasing life spans.
No savings created
“Pay-as-you-go creates no savings,” he said. It “basically moves cash around.”
And he contended that private accounts within Social Security, which he described as a “forced savings” plan, would allow the U.S. economy to set aside savings to create capital investments which will pay for retirees’ living standards in future decades.
The crucial issue, he told Reed, is whether “we have the material goods and services that people will need to consume” in future decades.
... more at linked article
This other important quote from the article:
The normally placid Greenspan rose almost to the threshold of passion as he made a class-based argument by contending that private accounts would allow low-income people to become mini-capitalists — in his view, a very good thing.
Interesting that this story was basically kept out of the news until late in the news day. Articles in The Washington Times and other sources noted that the Democrats would be priming the public to get ahead of this expected testimony.
Obviously, Mr. Greenspan loves the idea of forced savings and private accounts, and the Democrats and lovers of the current Social Security system want that story minimized so that the public won't start clamoring for the medicine that Dr. Greenspan is prescribing.
Considering it's not been that long ago that Social Security was "the third rail" which would kill the political careers of anyone that might even hint at changing the system, we are moving ever closer to the changes that Pres. Bush has proposed and has been working to drum up grass roots support for. There's still a long way to go in the sales job and drafting of legislation that will be needed, but the writing is on the wall for those that are paying attention.
There's about to be serious howling from liberals as the old system is overhauled, and a new more sensical one will take its place. Be ready for another big Bush victory folks. It's on the way.
