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The Cost of Failure
“The conventional wisdom since at least December has been that President Bush would fail to get Social Security reform through Congress. On this occasion, the conventional wisdom was right. Even the most die-hard advocates of reform know that it's extremely unlikely that Congress will enact anything.
“For a president to fail in his signature domestic initiative of his second term is no small thing. Yet the political impact of that failure may not be substantial. Democrats have hoped that they could make Republicans pay for broaching the issue, and Republicans that Democrats would pay for obstruction. But it's not clear that either party is going to pay.”
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New Poll Shows Support for "Stop the Raid" Proposals
In an op-ed in Tuesday's Washington Times, Gary Andres from Dutko Research argues Capitol Hill Democrats' "do nothing" approach to Social Security will soon become a political liability as the debate moves toward the actual drafting of legislation. Interestingly, Andres's research also indicates significant public support for proposals to stop the raid on the trust fund by using it to finance personal accounts:
"Finally, we tested voter reaction to recent discussion about using the Social Security surplus to create personal accounts and found voters supportive (59 percent to 37 percent). Not surprisingly, Republicans are most favorable toward the proposal (76 percent). But a strong majority of independents (62 percent) support this approach, as do 40 percent of self-identified Democrats."
View summaries, commentary and other helpful information on Social Security reform proposals.
 
New America Foundation Announces Nonpartisan Reform Plan
The New America Foundation announced the release of a nonpartisan plan for reforming Social Security, aimed at showing lawmakers that, contrary to popular opinion, compromise is possible. The plan's authors include Maya MacGuineas, director of the fiscal policy program at the foundation; Jeffrey Liebman, professor of public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and special assistant to President Clinton for economic policy; and Andrew Samwick, professor of economics at Dartmouth College and a member of President Bush's Council of Economics Advisers.
The plan includes a personal account component and also includes a reduction in future benefits, an increase in the payroll tax cap, and a raise in the retirement age. The announcement emphasized that the plan "puts great emphasis on fiscal responsibility."
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