President Bush discussed the progress being made on the war against terrorism, the demise of Social Security and solutions for the constantly rising gasoline prices during a press conference Thursday. The president has received his lowest polls yet since his first term. Many believe the reason he called this press conference is to reassure Americans that he is capable and proactive in solving the problems that are troubling the nation.One of the biggest problems is Social Security. As the baby boomers grow older and start settling into retirement, the younger generation is becoming more and more nervous about their retirement. “Social Security worked fine during the last century, but the math has changed,” said Bush. The president proposed that by the year 2041, Social Security will be bankrupt. People who were born after 1950 are going to be without a safety net if resolutions are not formed by Congress.
Bush believes that this is a problem that Congress should not face with party bias. “Too often, the temptation in Washington is to look at a major issue only in terms of whether it gives one political party an advantage over the other. Social Security is too important for politics as usual,” said Bush.
He proposes three steps that should bring America one step closer to assuring that the younger generation of today receives benefits tomorrow. One of these steps encourages working citizens to open “a voluntary personal retirement account” in which people would have the choice of investing a portion of their money into stocks or treasury bonds. These accounts would supplement the checks distributed during one?s retirement.
Another solution to the Social Security problem Bush proposes is a system where benefits for low income workers grow faster than people who fall into a higher income bracket. “By providing more generous benefits for low-income retirees, we?ll make this commitment: if you work hard and pay into Social Security your entire life, you will not retire into poverty,” said Bush