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Democrats Extrapolate: When Bush Finishes Sales Trip, Support for his Soc. Sec. Privitization Plan Will be Nil

Date: April 5, 2005
Issues: Senior Citizens Entitlements and the Safety Net


DEMOCRATS EXTRAPOLATE: WHEN BUSH FINISHES SALES TRIP, SUPPORT FOR HIS SOC. SEC. PRIVATIZATION PLAN WILL BE NIL

At Midpoint of President's 60 Day, 60 City Campaign to Sell Privatization Plan, Americans Less Likely to Support Private Accounts than Before

As Bush Appears at Bureau of Public Debt in West Virginia, He Ignores that Nearly $5 Trillion in Debt Would Be Added Under Privatization

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer was joined by Senate and House colleagues to share their constituents' increasingly negative reactions to the President's Social Security privatization proposals. The group included Senators Max Baucus, Debbie Stabenow, Tim Johnson, Byron Dorgan, and Reps. Earl Pomeroy, Hilda Solis, Jan Schakowsky, and Sander Levin. Each of these House Members held a town hall event in Republican Districts over recess.

As the President continues his 60 day, 60 city sales trip through the country, it is clear that support for his Social Security proposals is dwindling. Interestingly, this morning the President is touring the Bureau of Public Debt in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and he will follow that up with another staged Social Security meeting. Should the President's privatization plan be enacted, the Public Debt would be greatly increased, from over $4 trillion to over $9 trillion - adding nearly $5 trillion in additional debt, all of which will have to be paid back with interest by future generations.

Sen. Schumer said, "We hope the President adds another 60 cities to his Social Security privatization sales trip. The more Americans hear about Bush's scheme, the less likely they are to support it."

Recent polls, including the ABC-Washington Post poll in mid-March, indicate that a solid majority of Americans are opposed to privatization and a similar number disapprove of the way President Bush is handling Social Security.

"As the President examines the publicly-held debt in West Virginia, he should picture doubling the size of that facility to account for the doubling of the debt under his watch if Social Security is privatized," Schumer concluded.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR41571.SS%20Bush%20WV.040505.html

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