Bush Brings Debate Upstate

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Bush brings debate upstate
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
By SUJATA GUPTA

Times Staff Writer, sgupta@fltimes.com

While most Republicans and Democrats agree that Social Security needs repair, bipartisan bickering continues over President George Bush’s plan to move from publicly funded to privatized accounts.

That argument has become more heated in this area as the president prepared to talk this morning with a “Conversation on Strengthening Social Security” at the Athena Performing Arts Center at Greece Athena Middle and High School.

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-24 of New Hartford — who will fly to Rochester with the president on Air Force One — said he commends Bush for trying to initiate a dialogue on Social Security.

Boehlert stressed that when Social Security was implemented during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s term it was based on a much shorter lifespan — the average American man’s life expectancy was only around age 64 some 70 years ago.

“A baby boy born today in Geneva, New York, has a life expectancy close to 80,” Boehlert said, noting that longer lifespans are draining the public pension system.

But for Boehlert, Bush’s plan needs to be broadened to include not just Social Security, but all retirement benefits — including Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drug programs and private pension accounts.

“My word to the president then and even now, [is to] address the subject of retirement security because that affects all Americans,” said Boehlert, who worries that Bush’s proposal will not withstand the test of time.

“The president has proposed one aspect of the program dealing with private or personal accounts and if that were the only thing on the table I would not support it because that does nothing to deal with the long-term viability of the program,” Boehlert said.

Republicans around the region, like Don Bray, 50, secretary of the Ontario County Republican Committee, agree with Boehlert, noting that lawmakers should look at a broader range of options.

I think it’s extremely unfortunate that the Democrats or anyone else ... haven’t brought anything to the table to seriously debate,” Bray said. “I would like to see a larger flow of ideas.”

But Bray said he’s not worried about younger workers running out of money by the time they reach retirement age.

“I think people, given the opportunity, especially given a structured environment, will save wisely. I never subscribed to the philosophy that government knows best what to do with your money,” said Bray, who does believe that Social Security will eventually go bankrupt.

“I think it’s become the hot-button issue because in 13 years we’re going to start paying out more than we take in,” Bray said, but added that the government must also take into the initial costs of the changeover, which are likely to be in the trillion-dollar range.

“I would think a reasonable compromise might be to boost the social security tax just a little bit ... That will get rid of some of the initial cost,” Bray suggested.

AARP says Social Security will be 100 percent financed until at least 2041 and, with no changes, will be able to finance nearly 75 percent of all benefits until the end of the century.

Rick Herman, 48, former Ontario County Republican Committee chairman, said he was invited to today’s talk — which was notoriously difficult to gain admission to — but had to decline because of a prior engagement.

Herman said, overall, he agrees with the president’s proposal, and is impressed by Bush’s strategy to reach out to younger businesspeople in the area.

“I still want to know the fine-tuned details of his social security plan, [but] I like what I see in the beginning stages. I feel that the president is taking the bull by the horns. Somebody had to do it,” Herman said.

But his comments worry staunch Democrats like Yates County Democratic Chair Barbara Steinwachs, 67, of Penn Yan, who argues that the public pension system was created to protect all Americans during their retirement years.

“Bush’s plan to reform Social Security is not really a plan to reform Social Security. It’s a plan to eventually do away with Social Security,” said Steinwachs, who insists she supports measures to fix Social Security, but not those that she thinks will eventually eradicate the entire system.

Steinwachs asserts that Bush’s plans undermine Social Security and remove necessary safeguards not only for older Americans, but also disabled and other individuals who benefit from the program.

“The safety of the individual will be much less. For those who choose to do this, it will hinge on whether or not the market goes up or down ... Of course, it’s not being billed as wiping the system out, [but] everybody who looks at it closely ... admits that his plan would destroy the security part of it for people who decide to invest privately,” Steinwachs said, adding that there’s a reason the president has not been able to garner full support not only from Democrats, but also from many within his own party.

Steinwachs proposes that instead of eliminating Social Security, lawmakers should look at options that would make the program more viable in the long run.

For example, Steinwachs suggests raising the cap at which people are taxed for Social Security. Currently, Steinwachs noted, people making $90,000 or above, are only taxed for the initial 90 grand.

“I don’t think the world would end if the cap were raised above $90,000 so that people who make $90,000 or up were also contributing into the Social Security coffers,” said Steinwachs, who is also frustrated at how few people were invited to attend the Rochester event.

“I think its a sad commentary on his ideas that he has to control who’s able to come into the room and ask him questions because his ideas won’t stand up to scrutiny,” Steinwachs said.

But some, like Gail Hoesterey, a 1972 graduate of Greece Athena High School and supervisor of central services at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, are just excited that the president of the United States will be visiting this region.

“It’s kind of neat to say ‘I went to school there,’” Hoesterey said.