    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [March 18, 2005]
    [Pages 471-480]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Strengthening Social Security in Orlando, Florida
    March 18, 2005

        Thank you all for coming. Thanks for coming. Please be seated.
    Thanks for being here. Go ahead and be seated. Now. [Laughter] Thanks
    for the warm welcome. It's great to be back in central Florida. Thank
    you all for taking time out of your day to come by and let me discuss
    with you some important topics.
        But before I do, I'm proud to be introduced by one of my favorite
    seniors--[laughter]--okay, my favorite mother.
    [Laughter] She is--I told them earlier in Pensacola, if you're trying to
    figure me out, like the woman who walked up to me when I was campaigning
    for Governor of Texas, you should say, ``You got your daddy's eyes but your mother's mouth.'' [Laughter] Which
    is a compliment. [Laughter]
        Earlier today we were with the great Governor of the State of
    Florida. We're both proud of him. More importantly,
    we both love him dearly. He is a great man, and I'm proud of the job
    he's doing for Florida. I know you are as well.
        I said, ``Mother, we're going to be talking
    about Social Security.'' She said, ``Fine. Don't tell anybody my age.''
    [Laughter] I said, ``I won't, but can I tell them you were at least born
    before 1950, so you don't have anything to worry about when it comes to
    getting your check?'' She said, ``Fine.''
        Mother and I just came from the Life
    Project Senior Development Center in Orlando, Florida. I went there to
    look at some--tell some seniors that I wanted them to know with
    certainty that nothing will change when it comes to their Social
    Security check, that they will get the check that the Government has
    promised. And that's important for them to hear, because I understand a
    lot of people rely on a Social Security check. Right there is one.
    [Laughter] I don't know if ``Amen'' was the proper response, but
    nevertheless. [Laughter] ``Yo'' is better, yes. [Laughter]
        A fellow walked up to me--I'm finding this to be the case in a lot
    of my travels--he said, ``I'm glad I'm going to get my check. What about
    my grandchildren?'' And that's what I want to talk to the people--to you
    today about, making sure the seniors' grandchildren and their great-
    grandchildren have the same safety net that today's seniors receive from
    the Social Security system.
        Before I do, first I--Laura sends her best.
    Up until this very day, I have always said that Laura Bush was the
    Nation's greatest First Lady. And then I had to modify my position.
    [Laughter] Would you go for a tie? [Laughter]
        I'm traveling from Washington to Florida with some fine Members of
    the United States Congress from the great State of Florida. Florida
    Senator Mel Martinez is with us today. The
    Congressman from this district, Congressman Tom Feeney, is with us today.

    [[Page 472]]

        Congressman Ric Keller is with us today.
    Can I tell them? Yes, I'll tell them. Keller has got an interesting way
    about him in this way: He's getting married tomorrow. Isn't that great?
    Yet he's spending the day with me. [Laughter] So he's marrying a patient
    person. [Laughter] But I wish
    Ric all the best.
        Congressman Adam Putnam is with us today.
    And finally, Congressman Dave Weldon is with
    us today. I appreciate you coming, Dave.
        Mayor Rich Crotty is with us. You
    might remember the mayor--[applause]--wait a minute, you might remember
    the mayor, Tyler's father. [Laughter] I said to Crotty, ``Where's
    Tyler?'' You're not going to believe this: He's
    in Washington, DC, today. [Laughter] One way to avoid a speech is to get
    out of town. [Laughter]
        I appreciate the Y for letting us come by. Jim Ferber, I'm honored that you let us come by and use your facility.
    I'll tell you something interesting that takes place here, which I
    didn't realize until I got here, was that this is more than just a Y--
    than the Y that I used to think about. This is an education center. How
    about this idea for people: The YMCA partners with and houses Northlake
    Park Elementary School. Pretty interesting concept, isn't it? It seems
    like to me it would be a wise use of assets--make sure taxpayers' money
    goes well and also provide a great place for kids to not only learn, but
    to learn how to take care of their bodies.
        I don't know if you know this, but Congressman Weldon is a doctor, and he and I were discussing on Air Force
    One, what can we do as Government officials to encourage people to make
    right choices with their body, eat good food, and exercise? I mean,
    we've got to make sure that children understand that it is important to
    be wise about the food you eat and, at the same time, understand the
    importance of exercise in order to make sure that they're healthy when
    they come up, that they're--that when they get older--kind of like me--
    they're healthy. Now is the time to encourage people to have
    preventative--choices in life to prevent illness. It seems pretty cool
    to have the elementary school and the Y educating the mind as well as
    training the body in the same building. So I congratulate you for your
    wisdom and your foresight and wish you all the very best.
        I want to thank the teachers who are here. [Applause] Yes. I know I
    speak for Mother when I say this, and certainly
    Laura: We appreciate you teaching. It is a noble
    profession. Sam Houston was my predecessor as the Governor of Texas, by
    the way, and they asked him--he was a United States Senator from Texas;
    he was a Congressman from Tennessee; he was the Governor of Texas; he
    was the President of the Republic of Texas--that was before we became a
    State. And they said, ``Of all those jobs, which one did you like the
    best?'' Without hesitating, he said, ``Teacher.'' It's a noble
    profession. So thanks for teaching. I also want to remind the moms and
    dads who are here that a child's first teacher is a mom and a dad, that
    you have the responsibility to be the first teacher, to make their job
    easier.
        Sam Beard is here--where's Sam? Oh, Sam,
    thanks for coming. Sam is a, I think it's safe to say, a Democrat, which
    is fine. [Laughter] He is a--but what I think you'll find interesting
    is, in 2001, I created a Commission to look at the Social Security
    issue. And there were eight Democrats and eight Republicans on the
    Commission. The Commission was headed by former Democrat, United States
    Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from New York, one of the really fine,
    distinguished public servants. We attracted some really bright people
    like Sam to serve on the Commission. They came together to talk about
    the Social Security issue, which I'm about to talk about as well. They
    did so in the spirit of what is--trying to figure out how to solve a
    problem, not how to promote a political party.

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        And I want to thank you for serving, Sam. You
    came up with some great ideas. And I urge the Congress to take the same
    spirit that the--adopt the same spirit that the Moynihan Commission did,
    to serve this country without trying to foster a party, but serve the
    country to come up with problems so that a younger generation of
    Americans will be able to say, when it's all said and done, we did our
    duty to make sure the safety net for Social Security exists for them
    like it does for today's seniors. So thank you for being here, Sam. I
    appreciate you coming.
        A couple of other things I want to talk about before we get to
    Social Security. Today I met Betty Haggard.
    She is a volunteer. She works for Citizens on Patrol for the Seminole
    County Sheriff's Office. I want to thank Betty for the example she sets.
    The reason I like to bring up people who volunteer is because I want to
    remind you that a great way to serve our country is to feed the hungry,
    find shelter for the homeless, mentor a child, teach somebody to read,
    put your arm around somebody who hurts, help heal a broken heart, and
    you do that by volunteering. You do that by taking time out of your
    life, and when you do, you make America a better place.
        We're living in exciting times. I'm--I fully understand that the
    actions we take abroad and the actions we take at home will set the
    course of events for a half-century, at least. That's how I think about
    public policy. We're laying the foundation for freedom. That will mean
    that your children and grandchildren can grow up in a peaceful world.
    The object of this administration--the objectives of this
    administration--is to, first and foremost, defend our country. But I
    understand, in the defense of America--the long-term defense of America
    will be suited by the spread of freedom.
        Free societies are peaceful societies. I believe that deep in
    everybody's soul is the desire to live in a free society. It doesn't
    matter your religion or where you're from. And I believe that because
    the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world is freedom.
    This isn't bestowed by America; this is bestowed by something greater
    than America. And if you believe that and if you understand that freedom
    leads to peace, then it's got to be the central policy of the United
    States to work with friends and allies to spread freedom. And it's
    happening.
        I mean, if you think about Afghanistan, for example, particularly
    for the young here, it wasn't all that long ago that people in
    Afghanistan lived under the brutal reign of the Taliban. Now, these
    people were--had a dark, dim vision of the world, like, if you didn't
    agree with them 100 percent when it came to their religion, you'd find
    yourself being flogged in the public square or executed.
        We acted in our self-interest. We upheld a doctrine that said, ``If
    you harbor a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist.'' But
    in so doing, we freed millions of people from the clutches of the
    Taliban. It didn't happen long after the Taliban was gone that the
    people of Afghanistan voted for the first time for President in the country's history. Millions showed up at the
    polls. The first voter, by the way, was a
    young woman. She wasn't even allowed to express her opinion under the
    Taliban. She's voting. And as a result of Afghanistan becoming a
    liberated, free society, the world is more peaceful.
        There was a vote in the Palestinian territories. President
    Abbas is showing strength and
    courage by saying to the terrorists, ``We'll never achieve peace so long
    as you kill.'' I believe there will be a Palestinian state which is a
    democracy living side by side in peace with Israel, which is a
    democracy. And we're beginning to see the signs of hopeful progress. Two
    free societies living side by side in peace will make it easier for our
    grandchildren to grow up in a peaceful world. I don't have any
    grandchildren yet--your grandchildren. [Laughter]

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        Lebanon--think about Lebanon. It's a country occupied by Syria.
    However, as the world began to speak with one voice to Syria, saying,
    ``Get out. Take your troops out; take your intelligence services out,''
    people poured out in the public square to say, ``We want to be free.''
    There will be a free Lebanon and Syria must listen to the demands of the
    world and completely withdraw.
        And finally, in Iraq--I'm sure some of you have had relatives in
    Iraq--been a huge sacrifice by our military families and people of
    America, as a matter of fact, when it came to war. War is always the
    last resort for a President. Diplomacy must always be tried. We
    responded to the challenges of the time. But it should have heartened
    people to see the 8 million-plus Iraqis who once lived under the brutal
    reign of a tyrant go to the polls in defiance
    of terrorists and coldblooded killers. That statement was a powerful
    statement, particularly for young to understand, that when you believe
    freedom lurks in everybody's soul, that people love to be free, to
    realize the bravery and courage of those good folks in the face of
    terrorists has set an example for a lot of countries. A free Iraq is in
    our interests. A free Iraq will make America more secure, the world more
    free, which will help us achieve the peace we all want. Freedom is on
    the march, and over the next 4 years, I'll do all I can to work with
    friends and allies to keep it on the march.
        Just one quick word on what we can do in Congress to make sure that
    we continue the economic prosperity that's taking place in a place like
    Florida--it's got one of the lowest unemployment rates in the Nation, by
    the way. I tried to attribute that to Jeb, but then
    I realized it completely overlooks the entrepreneurial spirit of the
    Floridian people. The truth of the matter is, this economy is growing
    because there's risktakers, dreamers, doers, and hard workers in the
    State of Florida.
        So I'm looking forward to working with Congress to make sure that we
    continue to create an environment in which we can have economic growth
    and vitality. There's a lot of things we can do--pass a reasonable
    budget, for starters; make sure we're wise about how we spend your
    money. Another thing we can do is keep your taxes low. Third thing we
    need to do is to make sure that Congress gets an energy bill to my desk.
        In 2001, I was concerned about dwindling supply in the United States
    and more dependence upon supply from overseas. And so I put together a
    group of smart people, and we came together with an energy strategy. And
    it's a multifaceted strategy. It says, we've got to conserve more; we
    need to work on ways to encourage conservation; we've got to develop
    alternative sources of energy like ethanol and biodiesel. We need more
    LNG facilities so we can bring liquified natural gas to our powerplants
    around the United States.
        We'll spend taxpayers' money on research projects so that we could,
    for example, be able to burn coal in a zero-emissions plant. We've got a
    plant--such a strategy and such an experimentation going on right now. I
    think we ought to explore--and we are--ways to see if we can't use
    hydrogen to power our automobiles, so that we become not only less
    dependent on foreign sources of energy but that we're wiser about
    environmental air standards, about protecting environmental air
    standards.
        In other words, there's a lot of things I put in that report. I'm
    concerned about the price of your gasoline. I'm concerned about rising
    prices. And Congress needs to stop debating this bill. Congress needs to
    get it to my desk, so we can start the progress of becoming less
    dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        You don't have to worry about these ones. [Laughter] We're on
    board--on the same--we're working on--we're working toward the same
    goal, and that's energy independence.

    [[Page 475]]

        I want to talk about Social Security. First, Social Security is one
    of our great institutions. I think Franklin Roosevelt did a good thing
    when he created Social Security--matter of fact, I know he did--because
    it's provided a retirement safety net for a lot of folks. And that's
    important.
        The problem is we've got a problem with Social Security. And that's
    what I want to discuss with you. As a matter of fact, I think this is
    maybe the 16th State I've been to since I gave my State of the Union,
    talking about Social Security, the fact that it's one of the great moral
    successes, the fact that the system has helped seniors enjoy the dignity
    of a secure retirement.
        I'm assuring people I fully understand a lot of seniors rely upon
    their Social Security check. Don't you? It matters a lot. It matters to
    seniors all around our country. And that's why I'm spending a lot of
    time not only addressing the problem--which I'm going to define for you
    in a minute--but, most importantly, saying to seniors, you have nothing
    to fear when it comes to this talk about making sure the system works
    for the next generation. It's really important for people to hear that.
    It's taken 16 States so far to get the message out. I got three more
    next week. No matter how many States it takes or how many speeches I
    give, I want seniors to understand all across America, no matter what
    the rhetoric is, no matter what the pamphlets say, no matter what the
    pundits tell you, this Government will make and keep its promise to our
    seniors who have retired.
        If you're approaching retirement and born before 1950, you're going
    to get your check too. Nothing will change. You've been working hard,
    you've been putting money in the system, and you're going to get your
    Social Security check too. In other words, for those of us born prior to
    1950, nothing changes. I'm a fellow who was born prior to 1950; I guess
    that makes me feel okay.
        What really makes me worried about is I understand that we have made
    promises for younger Americans that we can't keep. And that's what I
    want to explain to you, that this Government of yours has said to
    Americans, ``That safety net that we've created is fine if you retire,
    but for a younger generation of Americans, it has a hole in it.'' And
    let me tell you why: Because Social Security has changed; the dynamics
    of our society has changed in ways that the creators of Social Security
    could never have envisioned.
        First of all, the Social Security system is a pay-as-you-go system.
    That means, you pay; the Government goes ahead and spends. [Laughter]
    You pay in the system at your payroll tax, and the Government pays out
    the promised benefits, and if there's any money left over, it goes to
    pay for other programs. See, some people, I suspect, think that there is
    a trust, and we take your money, and we hold it for you. And then when
    it comes time to retire, we pull it out for you. That's not the way it
    works. It is a pay-as-you-go system. The money comes in the door and
    immediately goes out the door.
        In 1950, there were 16 workers for every beneficiary--16 workers
    paying into the system for every beneficiary. You can imagine it works.
    In a pay-as-you-go system, when you've got a lot of workers per
    beneficiary, it means you're collecting enough money to be able to take
    care of the people who've retired. Today, because we're having fewer
    babies, because there's an increasing number of beneficiaries, there's
    only 3.3 workers per beneficiary. In other words, fewer workers are
    carrying a greater load.
        In a relatively short period of time, there's going to be two
    workers per beneficiary. Like, if you're young, you're going to be one
    of two who are going to have to pay for guys like me. And so you begin
    to get a sense for the math that has changed: 16 workers in the 1950s;
    in the 21st century, there's going to be 2 workers per beneficiary. And
    the other thing--the other problem to complete the math is that

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    a group of us are getting ready to retire. We're called baby boomers. I
    think I'm on the leading edge. I was born in 1946; I turn 62 in 2008,
    which is a convenient year, in my case, for getting to retirement age.
    [Laughter] And you know what else has changed? Guys like me and
    Sam and others, we're living longer, much longer
    than previous generations. And you know what else has changed? Because a
    lot of people ran for office saying, ``Vote for me; I'm going to
    increase your Social Security benefits,'' my generation has been
    promised greater benefits than the previous generation.
        So if you take the issue of baby boomers living longer, getting paid
    more, coupled with fewer people paying into the system, it says we've
    got a serious problem, and it begins to manifest itself in 2018. That's
    when more money starts going out of the system than coming in. Now, that
    may seem like a long time if you've got a 2-year perspective on life,
    but it's not that long; 2018 is 13 years from now. If you're 5 years
    old, you'll be voting in 13 quick years. For those of you who have
    raised children, you understand how fast 13 years goes by.
        In 2027, the system will be 200 billion in the red. In other words,
    in 2018, it starts to go in the red, and it gets worse every year; 2027,
    it's 200 billion, and it gets worse after that. It keeps getting worse
    until it gets up to--2033, the annual shortfall is about 300 billion.
    Finally, 2042, it's bust; it's bankrupt. So in other words, there's a
    huge hole. Because there's more of me--people like me living longer,
    getting paid more benefits, fewer workers in the system, the system
    starts to go into the red, and it just accelerates.
        And you can understand the problem. If you're a grandparent thinking
    about your grandchild, you ought to be asking the question of people
    like me, ``How are you going to--how's this younger worker going to pay
    for it if you don't do anything?'' You can imagine what it means.
        We had an expert today, one of your panelists, Sam, was there. She said that if nothing happens, in order to
    make the system somewhat whole, the payroll tax is going to have to go
    up to 18 percent, I think she told me. Think about that. Doing nothing
    has got serious consequences for a younger generation coming up. This is
    why I like to say this is a generational issue. This is an issue where,
    once we can assure grandparents that you're fine, you'll be taken care
    of, the promise will be kept, a lot of grandparents are starting to say,
    ``Whew, I'm feeling good about it. How about my grandchildren? What are
    we going to do for them?''
        I met Don and--Dan and Lois
    Canterbury. Dan is a retired dentist from
    Auburndale. He and his wife have got eight grandchildren. Their--the
    oldest grandchild is Evan. He's not here. He's 17--I hope he's
    studying--[laughter]--but he's 17. On its current path, Social Security
    would take part of Evan's check, of course, for his entire working
    career, but it goes broke 10 years before he retires. I hope that helps
    put it in perspective of what I'm talking about. It's one thing to put
    out dates; it's another thing to put this in personal terms.
        And Evan is out there working hard; the system is bankrupt; he's put
    all this money in; and so what are the choices that future public policy
    people will have? And they're not very good: major benefit cuts, major
    increases in taxes, cutting out all other kind of programs in order to
    make sure that the promises are kept. And those options don't sound very
    good to me, and I know they don't sound very good to you when you start
    thinking about it.
        And so what we need to do is come up with a permanent solution. And
    that's what I'm going to travel the country talking about. I think most
    people have begun to understand that we got a problem, which is an
    important dynamic. See, if Congress didn't think you thought there was a
    problem, nothing would happen. This is one of these issues where people
    in Washington

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    truly respond to what people think. If they think nobody really thinks
    there's a problem, I can assure you, nothing will take place. But I
    think things are changing in Washington. Matter of fact, I know they
    are, in terms of whether or not people think there's a problem. Matter
    of fact, the U.S. Senate approved a resolution the other day, 100 to
    nothing, saying that we have a problem with Social Security, and we need
    to come up with a permanent solution. That is progress. It's a strong
    commitment from the Senate.
        And I want to assure you all that my administration will work with
    the United States Senate and the House of Representatives to come up
    with a permanent solution, and we're willing to listen to anybody with a
    good idea. As a matter of fact, in my State of the Union Address--I
    haven't looked at all previous State of the Union Addresses, but I
    suspect you'll find, when it came to Social Security, mine was unique
    because I said, let's put good ideas on the table. And I mentioned some
    of them. Former Congressman Tim Penny had a
    good idea about the possibility of indexing Social Security benefits to
    prices rather than wages, for younger workers. President
    Clinton spoke about raising the
    retirement age for younger workers. Patrick Moynihan, through the
    committee, talked about ways to change the benefits. There was a Social
    Security expert named Robert Pozen, who
    happens to be a Democrat, proposed a progressive mix of wage and price
    indexing.
        These are all important, very interesting ideas that I just strongly
    urge Members of Congress to bring to the table and consider. It's one
    thing to be thinking about solutions; it's another to say, ``I just--
    going to dismiss anything out of hand.'' That's not the way I think, and
    that's not the way this problem's going to get solved. We ought to
    welcome ideas. It doesn't matter if it's a Republican idea or a Democrat
    idea, the idea is to come together and fix this for a generation of
    Americans to come.
        I have said this and I believe--I know we can do this without
    raising the payroll tax rate. The reason why I believe that it's
    necessary is because one way to make sure this economy is slow today and
    slow in the out-years is run up the payroll tax on people. It's a tough
    tax on a lot of people.
        I also know that this can't be a temporary fix. I don't know if you
    remember 1983. Some of you weren't even born then. Kind of envious.
    [Laughter] They said they fixed--they put the 75-year Social Security
    fix together. It's called a 75-year fix. First, I want to applaud
    President Reagan, Speaker O'Neill. I think Leader Dole was involved with that. It was--a lot of people from both
    parties came together, said, ``We've got a real problem; let's come
    together to do something about Social Security.'' And they put together
    the 75-year fix. But here we are in 2005. Doesn't seem like a 75-year
    fix when you're here talking about it 22 years later.
        And so I urge Congress not to think about 75-year fixes. The math is
    just not going to allow for a 75-year fix. It may sound like a 75-year
    fix at first. We need a permanent fix. We need to do it right, now, and
    make sure that nobody has to address the issue again.
        I think we have an additional responsibility, besides making sure
    that it's solvent, the system is solvent. We've got to make it better
    for our children and grandchildren. And so I've laid out a proposal to
    give our youngsters an opportunity that the current system doesn't
    provide, and that is a chance to own a piece of their own retirement,
    own it themselves, and to tap into the power of compounding interest.
    It's called--I call it a personal savings account. It's a chance to give
    workers a voluntary option. In other words, you get to choose if you
    want to. The Government says, you don't have to do this; you can do this
    if you think it's an interesting idea that you want to look at, to set
    aside some of your own money in a savings account

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    that you will invest in a conservative mix of bonds and stocks.
        This isn't the solution to Social Security; it is a part of the
    solution to Social Security. It will mean that younger workers, when
    they retire, get a better deal than under the current system, is what
    I'm trying to tell you. It's a--if you think about this--let me explain
    compounding rate of interest to you, that if you let a younger worker
    invest a third of their payroll taxes, let's say 4 percent, in a
    conservative mix of bonds and stocks, and that younger worker started
    saving at about 21 years old and made $35,000 a year over his or her
    lifetime, by the time he or she retired, there would be a nest egg of
    $250,000. In other words, 4 percent of that person's payroll tax, or a
    third of the payroll tax, invested and held, and it just grows,
    compounds.
        And what's important is, is that the rate of return in the voluntary
    account would be greater than that in which the Government--you can get
    through the Government. In other words, by putting in a conservative mix
    of bonds and stocks, you're going to make a better rate of return than
    your money today. And the difference between what you will earn in a
    conservative mix and what the Government gets is substantial,
    particularly when you start saving at 21 years old. And that matters.
        And so they've got an opportunity under this system to have an asset
    that you call your own. The system today, you have no assets. The money
    goes in, and it goes out. There's IOUs; they're paper. But there's no
    asset base.
        Now, look, we're going to make sure there's careful guidelines about
    what you can invest in. You can't put it in the lottery. You can't take
    it to the track. [Laughter] You've got to invest it in a conservative
    mix of bonds and stocks. But we're used to those kinds of things, aren't
    we, in our society? We got the Thrift Savings Plans that people--
    Congress are able to use or Federal employees are able to use.
        Today I was with a Navy pilot in Pensacola, 21-year-old kid getting his wings, talked about his Thrift Savings
    Plan. He said, ``I like my Thrift Savings Plan.'' He says, ``I watch my
    money grow.'' I said, ``Oh, yes--you get a quarterly statement?'' He
    said, ``No, I get it online all the time.''
        You see what's interesting about this notion about saving and
    investing is, the world has changed when it comes to investing. At least
    it's changed since I was being raised. I was telling Mother in the
    limousine, I don't remember talking to her about 401(k)s when I was a
    little guy. I don't remember IRAs, defined contribution plans. This
    world has changed since I was raised.
        And there are a lot of young kids who now understand what it means
    to invest. They're comfortable with the concept of watching their money
    grow. They understand that it's possible for Government to allow a
    younger worker to invest, that--in a conservative mix of instruments. I
    mean, this is not a foreign concept. People are getting used to that. It
    seems like to me that if a Thrift Savings Plan is good enough for a
    Federal worker, it's good enough for a private sector worker. It's good
    enough for you.
        I met Anna Brooks from Sanford, Florida. Her
    husband was a Methodist minister. He died. Let me talk about one of the
    benefits of personal accounts when it comes to somebody who has been
    widowed. If your spouse dies before 62 and you're not working, you get
    nothing from the system until you turn 62 years old. Think about that.
    Your husband has been working, putting money in the system; he passes
    away--or it could be the opposite, wife is working, husband is the
    beneficiary, and the person passes away, and there's nothing left until
    that person turns 62 years old. Or how about the case of the--both
    couples--both folks working, and one predeceases the other, and the
    spousal benefits are less than the person's retirement benefits when the
    person living retires. You only get one or

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    the other. You get the higher of the two, not both. Think about that
    system for a minute. Somebody works all their life; the spouse works all
    their life; the spouse is only going to get what she has or he has
    contributed into the system. But the other--the other member of their
    family's money, it just goes away.
        If you have a personal account that grows over time, it's your asset
    you call your own. You can leave it to whom you want. If you get--if
    you--the wife or husband whose spouse predeceases them will be able to
    have that asset. It's yours. You get to decide, not the Government. And
    the money you've earned over the course of your lifetime becomes real.
    It's a part of an asset. And that's an important part of why people
    should take a serious look at personal accounts. There's something
    beneficial in a society where more and more people have a real asset
    they call their own, where they get to decide to whom to leave it to.
        And so I was talking to Anna. She's got a
    lot of grandkids. She's interested in making sure that the system for
    the grandkids--she's got two great-grandkids; she's fixing to have
    another great-grandchild--so she's interested in the subject, because
    she understands that if we don't do anything, those kids are going to be
    saddled with a serious problem. And the idea of her kids or grandkids
    and great-grandkids being able to have an asset appeals to her,
    something she wasn't afforded when she was coming up and working.
        And so what I'm telling you is, personal accounts would replace
    empty Government promise with real assets. I really like the idea of the
    fact that in our society today, more people own a home than ever before.
    More minority families own a home than ever before. That's positive,
    isn't it? Isn't that great? I like the idea that more and more people
    own their own small business. People from all walks of life have their
    own business and they're struggling and working hard, employing people,
    but it's theirs. Personal accounts in a Social Security system would
    give millions of Americas their first chance to own something, the
    chance to pass something on to a son or a daughter, if that's what they
    choose to do.
        Now, ownership is powerful. Ownership was--you know, it means you
    can--somebody can inherit something from a mom or dad. And that
    shouldn't be the privilege of just the wealthy. That should be the
    opportunity of everybody who lives in America.
        And so one of the reasons why I think Congress ought to consider
    personal accounts is because it empowers the individual. It is--conforms
    with the way people are getting used to investing now, particularly
    younger Americans, through 401(k)s or defined contribution plans. It
    will allow people to earn a better rate of return than they will under
    the current system. It will help complement whatever is left over in the
    Social Security system. The Government will have promised benefits, but
    I've told you, we can't pay what we've promised. But the personal
    account, because of the compounding rate of interest, will help you get
    closer to that which Government has promised. It will make it a part of
    a good retirement system for people.
        And this idea is a idea that's not a Republican idea or a Democrat
    idea. There are a lot of people from both political parties who
    understand the power of this. I happen to think it's a really good
    people idea. I think it's an idea because it empowers people. I think
    it's an idea because it says that the United States Government really
    does trust the people with their own money.
        And so I urge Congress, as we take on this issue, to listen
    carefully to the American people. And I urge you to make sure that
    Congress hears your voices.
        Over the next weeks, I'll continue to talk about how the--to the
    people about the fact that we have got a serious problem. Oh, it's fine
    for people like me and people

    [[Page 480]]

    born after--before 1950. People born after 1950, you better be asking
    your elected representatives, ``If we've got a problem, what do you
    intend to do about it?'' I find people are really tired of partisan
    bickering: ``We can't accept this idea because it's a Republican idea.''
    ``We can't accept this idea because it's a Democrat idea.'' People just
    don't want that when it comes to the Social Security debate. People want
    there to be good will and a good-faith effort by people of both
    political parties to sit down at the table, and say, ``The people are
    worried about it. There's a lot of grandparents in America worried about
    their grandchildren. We have run for office for a reason.''
        One of the reasons I have put this idea or this issue on the table,
    because I understand the job of the President is to confront problems,
    and not just pass them on to another President or another Congress. Now
    is the time.
        And I want to thank you all for giving me a chance to come by. Sam,
    thank you for your good work on this issue. Thank you for your interest
    on this issue. I want to thank the younger folks who are here for paying
    attention to an issue which I promise you is going to affect your life.
    It's either going to affect it in an incredibly positive way, or about
    20 years from now, you're going to be saying to yourself, ``I wonder how
    come the Congress didn't listen to old George W. Bush. [Laughter] How
    come they didn't get together and fix this for generations to come?''
        God bless. Thank you for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:58 p.m. at the Lake Nona YMCA Family
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Mayor
    Richard T. Crotty of Orange County, FL; James W. Ferber, president and
    chief executive officer, Central Florida YMCA; Sam Beard, founder and
    president, Economic Security 2000; President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)
    of the Palestinian Authority; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq;
    former Representative Timothy J. Penny, senior fellow and co-director,
    Hubert H. Humphrey Institute Policy Forum; Robert C. Pozen, chairman,
    MFS Investment Management; and former Senator Bob Dole. The transcript
    released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks
    of former First Lady Barbara Bush.