    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [March 10, 2005]
    [Pages 404-413]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion on Strengthening Social Security in Montgomery,
    Alabama
    March 10, 2005

        The President. Thanks for coming. I'm honored to be here on the
    campus of Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama. What a great place.
    And I want to thank Guin Nance and all the
    good folks for helping to set up this trip. It's not easy to welcome our
    entourage. It seems to be a little bigger than the last time I came
    here. [Laughter]
        I've got great, fond memories of Montgomery. We were just talking
    backstage about the Elite Cafe. [Laughter] Hank Williams's grave.
    [Laughter] Somebody said maybe my old friend, the old former mayor,
    Emory Folmar will be here. Is he here?
    Emory, how're you doing? I see some of the Blounts here. I remember working for Guin's daddy.
        Anyway, thank you all for coming. We're going to talk about Social
    Security, and there's no better place to do it than on a college campus
    because college kids need to pay attention to this issue, and I think
    you'll know what I mean after I finish talking.
        Before I get into the subject, I want to first say that I'm sorry
    Laura is not with me.
        Audience members. Aw-w-w!
        The President. That is generally the reaction--[laughter]--which
    sometimes I interpret to mean, ``We wish she was
    here and not you,'' but nevertheless--[laughter]. She's doing great. She
    is a fantastic wife, a wonderful mother, and a great First Lady for the
    country.
        Speaking about first ladies, it's good to have the first lady of the great State of Alabama here, and she brought her
    husband, the Governor. Good to see you, Riley. I
    knew Riley as a Congressman, and I told him, I said, ``If you get
    elected down there, you're going to love being the Governor.'' It's a
    great job, isn't it? And you're doing a great job. Good to see you.
    Thank you all for coming. Making tough decisions.
        I'm proud of your Congressman, Mike Rogers. Mike, thank you for being here. And thanks for bringing
    Beth. I want to thank the attorney general, Troy King, for coming. I'm glad you're here, Troy. You don't look
    old enough to be the attorney general. I want to thank the State
    auditor, Beth Chapman, for coming. I want to
    thank the State treasurer, Kay Ivey. I thank all
    the State and local officials who are here, really appreciate you
    coming.
        I've got some things on my mind. Before I get to the subject at
    hand, I do want to thank Woody Woodcock, who came out to see me today. Some of you may not
    know Woody. Where are you, Woody? Somewhere--oh, there you go, Woody.
    Good to see you. Thanks for coming.
        Let me tell you why I asked Woody to come. You're not going to believe this, but he
    has spent 7,000 hours on adult literacy in Montgomery, Alabama. This is
    a guy who's taken time out of his life to help somebody learn to read. I
    can't think of a greater gift and a better way to serve your community.
    And the reason I bring this up is because the strength of this country
    is the hearts and souls of our people. We've got a great military. We'll
    keep it that way. We've got a strong economy. We'll keep it that way.
    But those aren't the strengths of America. The strengths of America are
    the fact that there are millions of people across our country, like
    Woody, who are willing to take time out of their day to feed the hungry,
    provide shelter for the homeless, mentor a child, mentor an adult, put
    their arms around somebody and says, ``I love you. What can I do to help
    you?'' And if you want to serve our country, be one of those soldiers in
    the army of

    [[Page 405]]

    compassion, to make America a better place.
        It's an exciting time around the world. It must be amazing for
    college students to pick up the newspaper and see there was an election
    in Afghanistan after years of tyranny. There was an election in the
    Palestinian Territory where the candidate said, ``Let's live side by side with Israel in
    peace.'' There was an election in Ukraine. There was an election in
    Iraq, where the terrorists had declared that democracy could not
    prevail. Yet millions went to the polls.
        It must be amazing to see how powerful freedom is for you. I've
    always believed it. I'm a little older, so I've had a little chance to
    absorb the sense that--the concept that freedom is universal and freedom
    is powerful. But you're getting to watch it. And that's important,
    because free societies will be peaceful societies. We're still in a
    different kind of war, and the way to win this war, long term, is to
    help people realize the great call of freedom that's very deep in their
    soul. Freedom is on the march, and the United States of America will use
    our influence to continue to make this world more free and more
    peaceful.
        More people are working now in America than ever before in our
    Nation's history, and that's good. We've overcome a recession. We've
    overcome terrorist attack. We've overcome corporate scandals. We'll
    overcome war. We've overcome a lot because the entrepreneurial spirit in
    this country is strong.
        The unemployment rate is Alabama is 5.3 percent. Congratulations,
    Governor. Actually, you only get partial credit.
    The credit goes to the entrepreneurs and dreamers and risktakers and
    doers. And our job in government is to create an environment in which
    people are willing to take risk.
        Yesterday I was in Ohio talking about the need for the Congress to
    get an energy plan to my desk. I submitted a strategy in 2001. And I
    said, ``Listen, we got a problem. We're importing too much--too many
    hydrocarbons from overseas. The supply and demand is getting out of
    balance.'' You're seeing it at the price of the pump right now, what I
    was talking about. I said, ``We need to encourage conservation. We need
    to encourage use of renewable sources of energy, ethanol and biodiesel.
    We need to do smart things with taxpayers' money to encourage the growth
    of new technologies.''
        When I went up to Columbus, I visited a research facility and talked
    to a person who's in charge of developing a zero-emissions coal-fired
    electrical plant. It's going to happen. We need to do something about
    our electricity grid. And yet they've been debating for 4 years. It is
    time for Congress to stop debating about energy and get a good energy
    bill to my desk.
        We need more legal reform in Washington. Did something on class-
    action lawsuits which will help make sure this economy continues to
    grow. I think they're going to get something done on asbestos. And for
    the sake of good health care, Congress needs to get me a medical
    liability bill so we don't run good doctors out of practice and run up
    the cost of medicine.
        I want to talk about Social Security. First thing is, people are
    saying, ``Gosh, I'm surprised he's even willing to talk about the
    issue.'' You remember, it was called the third rail of American
    politics. You talk about it, and you make suggestions about it, sure
    enough, the next thing you know, there will be a blizzard of TV ads
    trying to run you out of office. It was used--Social Security was used
    in a lot of campaigns to frighten people. You know, ``Well, if he's
    talking about reform, that means a senior is not going to get his
    check.'' But I'm talking about it, because I believe the job of a
    President is to confront problems and not pass them on to future
    generations and future Presidents.
        And I'm about to tell you we got a problem. We've got some panelists
    here. I think you're going to find the conversation to be interesting.
    We've got a granddad and a

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    grandson, a granddad and granddaughter. And the
    reason I've asked them to join us is because this is a generational
    issue we're talking about.
        Social Security is a vital system, and Franklin Roosevelt did a good
    thing in putting it in place. It provided a safety net for a lot of
    citizens, and it worked for a lot of years. But it's not going to work
    in the out years because the math has changed.
        Let me tell you about the math. This is a pay-as-you-go system.
    Money goes in, and money goes out. There's no such thing, by the way, as
    a Social Security trust. Some people probably think that the Government
    has taken your payroll tax and held it for you, and then when you
    retire, they give it back to you. That's not what happens. [Laughter]
    The Government takes your money and spends it on other things and puts
    an IOU, a piece of paper, on your behalf, which may be worth something,
    and it may not be worth something.
        The math is this. Baby boomers like me are fixing to retire. I will
    be retirement age--of retirement age in 2008. It's coincidental, isn't
    it? [Laughter] That doesn't mean I'm going to quit working. I'll be
    eligible for Social Security. That's when I turn 62. And I'm the leading
    edge of a lot of other people. The baby boomers are getting ready to
    retire, and there's a lot of us. And we're living longer years than
    before, and that's good. It's good that we have a healthier society.
    We're making better choices. If you want to live longer, exercise, by
    the way; make good choices about your body. We're living longer, and we
    have been promised greater benefits than the previous generation. In
    other words, people ran for office, said, ``Vote me. I'll increase your
    Social Security benefits.'' That's what happened.
        So start thinking about the math: More people living longer, getting
    greater benefits, and fewer people paying. In 1950, that chart will show
    you, there was 16 workers to one paying into the system. And therefore,
    if the average payout for Social Security would be 14,200, that means
    each worker would be paying $900 a year to support that one retiree.
    That's manageable. Today, it's 3.3 workers to each beneficiary.
    Therefore, the cost is now up to $4,700 per worker. Soon, it's going to
    two workers per beneficiary, and that's assuming the benefits stay at
    $14,200 on average.
        In other words, you've got fewer people paying into the system. And
    the system, which was a great system, now needs to be modernized because
    if we don't, the money going out--which you can see on this chart--will
    be greater than the money coming in starting in 2018, and it just
    perpetually declines. Our Government can't afford that. You see, because
    baby boomers like me are retiring and fewer people are paying in, the
    system goes into the red starting in 2018; 2029, it's $200 billion
    short--that's short after payroll tax. So you've got younger workers
    paying in, trying to pay for me, but the Government isn't being able to
    make its promise. And that's the problem. And it's a problem we've got
    to address, because the closer we come to 2018, when it starts in the
    red, the harder it is to solve the problem.
        Now, we've tried to solve this problem before. In 1983, Congress
    came together and said ``We've got to make sure the safety net works.''
    And they said, ``We'll put a 75-year plan out there.'' This was in 1983.
    President Reagan brought Republicans and Democrats together, which, by
    the way, is a good model for President Bush, that it's going to take
    Republicans and Democrats to come to the table, and I expect both
    parties to be at the table. But they said, ``You know, we'll get a 75-
    year fix on Social Security in 1983.'' Well, it didn't last very long,
    did it?
        See, what we need to do is address the root cause, the demographics,
    which have shifted, and fix this system permanently. And that's why I've
    come to Montgomery,

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    Alabama, and that's why I'm going to Tennessee tomorrow, and I'm going
    to Louisiana. And that's why I'm going to travel next week and the week
    after that and the week after that. I'm going to make it clear to the
    American people, we have a problem. And I'm also going to make it--say
    it as plainly as I can, ``I don't care what the TV ads say. I don't care
    what the pamphlets say. If you've retired or near retirement, the
    Government will pay you what we've said we'll pay you. That's reality.''
        I was talking to Rogers about this. He
    said, ``There's a lot of people in my State who rely solely upon Social
    Security,'' and I understand that. A lot of people in my State too,
    people who count on that Social Security check coming in every month.
    It's an important part of their retirement. And I assured the Members of
    Congress, when I've talked to them, I understand why somebody would get
    nervous when they're talking about Social Security. Because somebody is
    saying, ``Really what he's going to do is he's going to take away your
    check.''
        And so it's going to be an important part of this campaign around
    the country to make it clear to those who are receiving their Social
    Security check, nothing changes--nothing changes. And when I convince
    people of the truth--it's a lot easier to convince people of the truth,
    by the way--when I convince them of the truth, then the American people,
    particularly younger folks, are going to start saying to those of us who
    have been elected, ``You said we got a problem, and we believe you. The
    seniors don't have anything to worry about. What you going to do for us?
    What are you going to do for younger workers who are going to have to
    pay the burden for a system that needs to be modernized?''
        I'm saying to the Members of the United States Congress, ``Let's fix
    this system permanently--no bandaids. Let's do our duty.'' And I believe
    that when this debate gets moving hard and people get educated about the
    realities of Social Security, woe be to the politician who doesn't come
    to the table and try to come up with a solution. There's too much
    politics in Washington, DC. People need to negotiate in good faith.
    There's too much, ``Well, I can't do it for the sake of my political
    party.'' People in both political parties need to come together and fix
    this for the sake of America, first and foremost.
        In my State of the Union Address, I did something a President I
    don't think has ever done, and that is said all options are on the
    table. I said, ``If you've got a good idea, bring it up. Let us hear
    it.'' You know, a lot of times, people would lay out an idea on Social
    Security and try to trap somebody, politically trap them so that you can
    then get them. But I said to the Congress, ``If you've got a good idea,
    come on with it. Let us hear it.''
        And I've got some good ideas, myself, in order to permanently fix
    Social Security. And one interesting idea that needs to be a part of a
    permanent fix, because it, in itself, is not a permanent fix, is to let
    younger workers take some of their own money and set it aside in a
    savings account.
        Now, let me tell you why I think this is an interesting idea. First
    of all, I like the idea of people owning something. I think we need to
    develop and encourage ownership in our society. Do you realize the
    homeownership rate is at an alltime high in America? More minorities own
    a home than ever before in our Nation's history, and that's positive.
    It's incredibly good news. I love the fact, when I meet people from all
    walks of life who say, ``I own my own business.''
        I want people saying, ``I own and manage a part of my own retirement
    account.'' But that's not a new concept. It's happening already. When I
    was young, I didn't know anything about 401(k)s because I don't think
    they existed. Defined benefit plans were the main source of retirement.
    Now, they've got what they call defined contribution plans. Workers are
    taking aside some

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    of their own money and watching it grow through safe and secure
    investments.
        As a matter of fact, the concept is such a good idea that the
    Federal Government allows Federal employees to do just that. In other
    words, they say, ``You can take some of your employment money and set it
    aside in an account of stocks and bonds.'' The reason the Federal
    Government lets employees do that is because the Federal Government
    understands that when you save in stocks and bonds, that the rate of
    return over time, the compounding rate of interest, will enable your
    money to grow substantially more than if the Government holds it for
    you. It's a smart thing to do, to let Federal workers do that.
        I remember one of the fellows working at the White House said, ``I
    heard you talking about personal accounts and Social Security.'' He
    said, ``I love my Thrift Savings Plan.'' Now, he's not the investor
    class. He's a fellow I don't think went to college. But the reason I
    bring that up is there's an attitude among some people in this country
    that only certain people can invest. That's not what I think. I think
    everybody in America should be allowed to take some of their own money
    and set it aside and watch the money grow in safe and secure
    investments. I don't think there is such thing as a investor class
    limited to certain people. I don't believe that.
        Now, you can't take your money under this idea and put it into the
    lottery. [Laughter] That's not safe, with all due respect,
    Governor. [Laughter] You have a lottery? No. It's
    not safe. Got one in Texas. Anyway, you can't take it to the track. Got
    a track? No, no. [Laughter] You can only put it in safe and secure
    stocks and bonds, and you hold it for time.
        Another good part of this plan is that a permanent fix will mean
    younger workers probably aren't going to get the promise the Government
    has made. We can't afford it. But because of the compounding rate of
    interest, if you start saving money early, your asset base will grow.
    And that asset base, along with whatever the Government is going to pay
    you, becomes the basis for your retirement. And you withdraw, on a
    regular basis, interest off of your capital.
        Now, let me give you an idea of what I'm talking about. If you're a
    worker who has made $35,000 over your lifetime and the Government says
    you can set aside 4 percent of your payroll taxes into a personal
    account, by the time--and you invest in safe and secure stocks and
    bonds, by the time you retire, your personal savings account will be
    worth a quarter of a million dollars--$250,000. And that's yours. If
    you've averaged more money over your lifetime, the money goes up
    exponentially, and it's your money. It's your money you can retire on.
    But if Social Security is just a part of your retirement package, and
    you feel comfortable, it's your money you can give to your children or
    your grandchildren.
        Now, we're going to talk an interesting story about what happens to
    some people here who die earlier than expected and what it means for
    Social Security. But if that were to happen, you can pass that on to
    your widow.
        There's a lot of benefits with this idea, and it's a new idea. It's
    not a new idea when it comes to investing. It's not a new idea when it
    comes to what's happening with 401(k)s or with the Federal Government.
    But it's a new idea for Social Security. It's a way to make sure that
    Social Security is complemented with more money available for the
    workers. And that's an idea I want Congress to seriously consider. I
    think it's an idea that makes a lot of sense, and I'm going to continue
    talking about it.
        I want--I've asked Jeff Brown to join
    me. He is a professor. He can tell you where--where do you profess?
    [Laughter]
        Jeffrey R. Brown. I have a Ph.D. in
    economics, and I teach at a business school.
        The President. Yes. It's an interesting lesson here, by the way.
    He's an adviser. Now, he is the Ph.D., and
    I am a C-student--or was a C-student. Now, what's that tell

    [[Page 409]]

    you? [Laughter] All you C-students at Auburn, don't give up. [Laughter]
        All right, I try to have an expert on these panels so that people
    think there's somebody else who believes we've got a problem, other than
    me. [Laughter]

    [At this point, Dr. Brown, assistant professor, Department of Finance,
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, made brief
    remarks.]

        The President. Yes, 13 years is--if you think in 2-year cycles, 13
    years is a long time. But I don't think in 2-year cycles. Thirteen years
    is really quick. How old are your children?
        Dr. Brown. My oldest is 7, on down to
    one.
        The President. Yes. That's right around the corner, by the way.
        Dr. Brown. I do know.
        The President. Yes.
        Dr. Brown. Yes, 13 years, my oldest
    will be in college, so it's not very far away. And so what we need to do
    is think about ways to change the system to help us individually as well
    as a country, to save more, because when we all save more, it's not just
    ourselves that benefit from that, but the economy benefits. When there's
    more savings, there's more investment. When there's more investment,
    people's wages go up. So this is--changing the system to make it more of
    an investment-based system can really be good for long-term economic
    growth.
        The President. Yes, you understand what he's saying about this. There's a macroeconomic effect when we
    encourage savings. When there's savings available, it means capital is
    available. And capital is what fuels the growth of small businesses.
    Capital is what fuels productivity increases. Capital is what makes a
    capitalist society work. Anything else?
        Dr. Brown. It's up to you.
        The President. Keep going. [Laughter]
        Dr. Brown. As I said, I'm a professor,
    so I can keep going as long as you want me to. [Laughter]
        The President. A funny professor.
    [Laughter]

    [Dr. Brown made further remarks.]

        The President. Glad you came, Professor.
        Dr. Brown. Thank you.
        The President. You ready? Got to speak close. All right, we've got
    George Wood with us. George, thanks for coming.
    And by the way, George Wood Moody--is that right? George Walker Bush,
    George Wood, George Wood Moody. [Laughter]
    G.W., W.--thanks for coming. [Laughter] Ready to go? Why are you here?
        George Wood. I'm 79 years old. I fully
    expect to retire sometime within the next 25 years. [Laughter]
    Professionally, my partner, Todd Parsons, and I work with Synovus, and
    part of what we do is work with people to arrange their finances for
    retirement.

    [Mr. Wood, senior vice president, Synovus Financial Corp., Montgomery,
    AL, made further remarks.]

        The President. Well, you know investments. I mean, people--one of
    the--you hear people say, ``Well, you know, investing in conservative
    stocks and bonds is risky.'' That's kind of an oxymoron isn't it?
        Mr. Wood. If this had been going on during
    the Depression, you would still be way ahead of the game.
        The President. You hear that? If you hold stocks and bonds for a
    long period of time, even if you go into the depression, the rate of
    return over a period of time is pretty good, wasn't it?
        Mr. Wood. Mr. President, I admire you for
    your courage and foresight in taking this problem on now.
        The President. Well, thank you. [Applause] Thank you.
        Mr. Wood. I feel that you could very easily
    have swept this under the rug and say, ``I have only 4 years to go. I'll
    let

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    some future President and Congress then tackle the problem.''
        The President. Well, thank you. I wouldn't have been able to live
    with myself.
        Mr. Wood. Well, I think this shows something
    of your wisdom, your courage, and foresight in meeting this problem
    head-on, and thank God for you.
        The President. Well, thank you, George.
    Thanks for saying that. Good job.
        George Wood Moody. You ever heard of
    him?
        Mr. Wood. He is one of my grandchildren,
    and he's made me promise that I would behave myself today. [Laughter]
    And so far, Mr. President----
        The President. You're doing a good job. [Laughter]
        Mr. Wood. Have I not behaved myself?
        The President. Very well. I'm a little disappointed, frankly. But
    anyway--[laughter].
        All right. George Moody, age 22, sitting
    on the stage with his grandfather and the President of the United States
    in front of a couple of thousand people. How about it? [Laughter] Life
    doesn't get any better than that, does it?
        George W. Moody. I wasn't nervous until
    you said that, Mr. President. [Laughter] Like you said, I'm 22, and I'm
    about to enter the workforce.
        The President. Going to school?
        Mr. Moody. Go to Auburn.
        The President. Yes, good.
        Mr. Moody. War Eagle.

    [Mr. Moody made further remarks.]

        The President. Let me ask you something. Anybody like your age even
    worry about it?
        Mr. Moody. Well, of course they are.
    It's not something that's on the forefront right now, but they know that
    something has to be done in the near future.
        The President. Yes, somebody told me one time the younger
    Americans--they took a poll of them and said some of them feel like
    they're more likely to see a UFO than they are a Social Security check.
    [Laughter] That's an interesting dynamic--seriously. That's why this is
    an issue you can talk about. I campaigned on it 2000 and 2004 because I
    fully understood that the dynamic has shifted. Once we can assure George
    that he's going to get his check, we need to be talking to George
    Moody and the 22-year-olders, because
    they're not going to, unless we do something.
        And that's why this issue--it doesn't take any courage. It just took
    the realization that there's going to be a lot of people sitting out
    there wondering, ``Why did we get elected in the first place if we
    weren't willing to go to Washington, DC, and try to bring people
    together to solve the problem?''
        Are you worried about investing anything?
        Mr. Moody. Well, in the current system,
    I think you earn about a 2-percent return on what you put in. And being
    a finance major, I know that that's--that's diddly-pooh. That's really--
    [laughter].
        The President. It's a financial term. [Laughter]
        Mr. Moody. Under your personal accounts,
    you can earn about a 2- or 3-percent premium on what you put into the
    system.
        The President. On top of that.
        Mr. Moody. And that's going to compound
    every year. And just--we're going to have that much more money when we
    retire.
        The President. And that matters. It matters a lot. If you're a 22-
    year-old person who can save, the difference between 5 percent or 4
    percent and 2 percent is a huge amount of money over time, depending
    upon how much you initially start to save with. And that's an important
    concept for people to get.
        There's a lot of--I've talked to a lot of younger Americans who talk
    about looking forward to managing their own money. Again, when we were
    coming up, I don't remember that. I don't remember spending

    [[Page 411]]

    a lot of time worrying either about solvency in Social Security or
    managing my own money through the Social Security system. But things
    have changed. There's a confidence level now amongst people throughout
    our society about wanting to watch their money grow through an
    interesting mix of stocks and bonds.
        So I appreciate you boys being here, two George W.'s. You did an excellent job
    of behaving yourself. Good job.
        Ready? Sarah Garrison Webster,
    tell us what you do.
        Sarah Garrison Webster. Hello,
    Mr. President.
        The President. Hi. [Laughter]
        Ms. Webster. On behalf of all
    Montgomery Alabamians, we would like to extend our heartfelt welcome.
    And thank you for allowing us to be part of this townhall meeting.
        The President. Well, thank you for coming. You are an entrepreneur.
        Ms. Webster. That is correct. Mr.
    President, I am 57 years old. I'm retired Department of Justice. I'm
    married. I have two sons, one 40, one 39. Both of my sons have indicated
    to me that they love your plan.
        The President. Raised some smart
    boys That's good.

    [Ms. Webster, owner, Webster Progressive Funeral Home, Shorter, AL, made
    further remarks.]

        The President. Let me ask you something about the Thrift Savings
    Plan. This is a Thrift Savings Plan that has a mix of stocks and bonds?
        Ms. Webster. Yes, sir.
        The President. Now, how hard was that to learn how to do that?
        Ms. Webster. And I chose the safe
    plan, Government bonds. [Laughter]
        The President. That's all right. Well, not so safe, unless we fix
    the deficit. But other than that--[laughter]. We're fixing the deficit.
        Ms. Webster. But Mr. President,
    I'm the owner of Webster Progressive Funeral Home.
        The President. Small-business owner, nothing better. I hate to--I'm
    not going to ask you how business is. [Laughter]
        Ms. Webster. Oftentimes, I see
    people die, and their family members are not eligible for Social
    Security benefits, at least some of these people. Had they participated
    in your plan, or if we had your plan, the moneys that they would have
    paid into the savings plan would have been passed on to their heirs. And
    Mr. President, your plan makes sense to me. Why on Earth would we allow
    someone else to have control of our moneys? That is money that those
    people work very hard for. That is money that family people deserve. The
    family deserves that money. Your plan is extremely bold and progressive,
    Mr. President. We thank you for having the courage to be able to
    champion this cause.
        The President. Thank you. Very good. Thank you, Sarah. Good job.
        Sarah is right. Sarah is right
    about the system. Think about this. You're married; you're doing well.
    The spouse is putting money into the system, dies earlier than expected,
    and the other spouse doesn't have anything. The money went into the
    system, and until you reach a certain age, there are no survivor
    benefits. It just, poof, goes away. And the idea of having an asset base
    that you can pass on to help a younger husband or a surviving wife makes
    a lot of sense. It helps peace of mind. And I want to appreciate you
    bringing that up. Thank you very much for--pretty darn articulate.
        Ms. Webster. Thank you, Mr.
    President.
        The President. I could use a few lessons. Good job.
        All right. Don Farnsworth and his
    granddaughter, Beth. Got it right, didn't I?
    Thanks for coming. I hope you find it interesting, grandparents and
    grandkids. The reason why we've asked them to come, this

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    is a generational issue; it truly is. The system worked for the
    grandparents. The question is, will we be able to get something in
    place, modernize the system--not tear it apart, not destroy it--
    modernize it and reform it so it works for the grandkids.
        And so, Don, thanks for coming.
        Don Farnsworth. Pleasure to be here.
        The President. You might want to use the mic. [Laughter]
        Mr. Farnsworth. Pleasure to be here.
        The President. I'm glad you're here. You were a pilot?
        Mr. Farnsworth. Yes, sir.
        The President. Don't tell them who you flew for.
        Mr. Farnsworth. I dare not.
        The President. No. Want me to?
        Mr. Farnsworth. Go ahead.
        The President. The University of Alabama.

    [Mr. Farnsworth, retired senior citizen, Northport, AL, made further
    remarks.]

        The President. Well, thanks for coming, Don. Well done. No question in your mind you're going to get
    your check.
        Mr. Farnsworth. No, I get my check every
    month.
        The President. That's good. Well, that's what we're supposed to do.
        Beth is with us. She is a senior here,
    and she's majoring in journalism with a minor in Spanish. Como esta?
        Beth Farnsworth. Bien. Muy bien.
    [Laughter]
        The President. Very good. A-plus. Talk to us about Social Security.

    [Ms. Farnsworth made further remarks.]

        The President. See, it's--again, I want to hearken back to the
    ownership theme. I actually put it in my Inaugural Address, because I
    believe it's such an important part of our country. The more people own
    something, the more people are going to have a vital stake in the future
    of the country. It makes sense, doesn't it? The more people have a piece
    of property they call their own, the more they're going to say, ``Gosh,
    makes a lot of sense.'' The more people watch their assets grow, they're
    going to be saying, ``I better pay attention to fiscal policy in
    Washington, DC.'' There's nothing that causes more participation in
    Government than if your wealth is directly associated with the decisions
    of Government. The more people own something, the more it is they'll
    have stability in their lives.
        And so what we're talking about is a way to make sure the Social
    Security system, which has worked and worked very well for a lot of
    people, will continue to work. It's going to be an interesting debate in
    Washington, DC, but it's a debate that the people will affect. This is
    one of those debates where if I do my job and get people to focus on it
    and talk about it and go to the coffee shops and try to figure out what
    they're all saying up there, people are going to say--they're going to
    come to the realization, we have a problem.
        And when that happens, the people of this country are going to start
    calling up the Congress men and women and saying, ``We have got a
    problem. Why are you waiting? We have got a problem, and we expect you
    in good faith to work with the White House to come up with a solution so
    we can say to our grandchildren, `This system, the safety net will be
    there for you.' '' The safety net has been great for a lot of folks, but
    it's got a hole in it. And now is the time for people who've run for
    office to serve our country to come together and fix that hole for
    generations to come.
        I want to thank you for giving me a chance to be here. God bless you
    all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. at Auburn University. In his
    remarks, he referred to Guin Nance, chancellor, Auburn University
    Montgomery; former Mayor Emory McCord Folmar of Montgomery, AL; Gov. Bob
    Riley of Alabama and his wife, Patsy; Beth Rogers, wife of
    Representative Mike Rogers; and President Mahmoud

    [[Page 413]]

    Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority.