[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[May 3, 2005]
[Pages 712-723]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in a Discussion on Strengthening Social Security in Canton,
Mississippi
May 3, 2005
The President. Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Thank you
very much for the warm welcome. My first observation is, is that I
overdressed. [Laughter] And my second observation is, what an amazing
facility you have here. I mean, you're coming in on the highway, and all
of a sudden the Nissan plant starts to--shows up, and it lasts for a
long time. So thanks for having me.
I want to congratulate the dreamers and doers who had this plant
here, and I want to thank the workers for making it work. You can have
a--you know what I know, you can have a pretty building, but if you
don't have a motivated, highly skilled workforce, nothing is coming out.
And I want to thank you all for showing the world that America can
compete with anybody.
I want to thank the folks who greeted me, Dan Gaudette and Jim Morton, Greg
Daniels, Dave Boyer--thank you all for your hospitality. Thanks for letting us come.
I particularly want to thank you all for taking time out of your busy
work schedules. Hope it wasn't an inconvenience to get you off the line.
[Laughter] I know you want me to be short, so you can get back to work.
[Laughter] No--okay, I won't be.
I've got something I want to talk about, and I'm going to spend a
little time on Social Security. This is an incredibly important subject
for a lot of folks. So this is going to be an educational experience,
and I've asked some of our fellow citizens to join me up here, to make
it clear to you all why I'm talking about this issue to begin with.
Before I do, there's some people I want to recognize, starting with
the great Governor of the State of Mississippi, Haley Barbour. Welcome, Governor. Thank you. And his wife,
Marsha, the first lady. Haley married
well, and so did I. I don't know about you, Haley, but my wife has
become quite a one-liner, and she can deliver those one-liners. I called
her Laura ``Leno'' Bush the other day. I love her
dearly. She is a fabulous woman. She is a--and a great
[[Page 713]]
First Lady. I'm sorry she's not with me here today.
I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, Amy Tuck, for joining us. Governor, thank you for being here.
Traveling with me is the Secretary of Education, Margaret
Spellings. Thanks for coming, Madam
Secretary.
Here's what we believe in Washington, at least Margaret and I believe this: Every child can learn. We
believe that. We don't accept a system that simply shuffles kids through
school without teaching them how to read and write and add and subtract.
I believe schools ought to set high expectations, and I believe we ought
to measure to determine whether to not each child is learning to read
and write. And by measuring, we can figure out who needs help early,
before it's too late. I believe it when I say it, that we should have no
child left behind in America, by insisting on high standards in our
schools.
I'm traveling with some high--high power out of Washington today.
Senator Trent Lott, head of the
Budget Committee and a great friend, is with us--thank you for being,
Senator--and Tricia Lott. That's not
Tricia; that's the granddaughter. And the head of the Appropriations
Committee, Senator Thad Cochran--
thank you both for being here. The Senator and I traveled down on Air
Force One together, and I guess the message I heard was, ``Don't forget
Mississippi, Mr. President.''
I appreciate Congressman Roger Wicker
and Congressman Chip Pickering joining us today. Thank you guys for coming. You might be
aware of the Pickering name. I was proud to appoint Chip's dad, Judge
Charles Pickering, to the Fifth
Court. What a fine man he was and what a fine judge he was, and give him
our best, please, Chip.
The great Senator Travis Lee is with
us. Senator, appreciate you coming. How about the mayor of Canton, Fred
Esco. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Appreciate you.
There are a lot of other folks. If I spent time naming them, you'd
never get back to work. So I'm going to stop trying to name them all.
But I do want to name one other person. I had the honor of meeting Ruth
Wilson today when I landed there in Jackson
Airport. Ruth is a longtime volunteer. She helped organize a program at
her church that has established a food pantry, an academic tutoring
program, a clothes closet, and a transportation service for the elderly.
The reason I bring up Ruth is I want to remind you all that the great
strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens.
Some people say the strength of America is our military. We've got a
strong military, and I can assure you we're going to keep it that way.
Some people say it's because of our economy--is the biggest in the
world. That's important, and we're going to keep the environment such
that we'll continue to expand jobs across America. But the true strength
of America is the fact, we've got people like Ruth who are willing to take time out of their lives to feed
the hungry, to provide shelter for the homeless, to love a neighbor just
like you would like to be loved yourself.
If you want to serve America, join the army of compassion,
volunteer, make a difference in somebody's life. Help change this great
country one heart and one soul at a time, just like Ruth Wilson is.
Ruth, thank you for coming. I don't know where you are--there you are.
Welcome.
I'm here to talk about the Social Security system. I've spent a lot
of time working on this issue. I believe the job of a President is to
confront problems and not pass them on to future Presidents or future
Congresses. I think you expect people in office, like me, if we see a
problem, to deal with it and not say, ``Oh, it's too big a political
risk to deal with it,'' or maybe, ``I don't feel like dealing with it,''
or maybe, ``Somebody says I shouldn't deal with it.'' I believe you send
people to office to say, ``Here is a problem,'' and to take it on
[[Page 714]]
squarely. And that's exactly why I'm sitting here today in Canton,
Mississippi, because I see a problem in Social Security. And I believe I
have a duty as your President to talk about the problem and talk about
the solution. And here's the problem.
First, Franklin Roosevelt did a smart thing when it came time to
setting up Social Security. Social Security checks have meant a lot to a
lot of people. You know what I'm talking about. Your moms and dads or
your grandparents count on that check. We've got some people sitting up
here today who count on that check. I fully understand that when you're
talking about Social Security, you're talking about something really
important for a lot of people. And therefore, the first thing I want to
leave you with is that if you're getting a Social Security check today,
you're going to keep getting your check. I don't care what the
propagandists say. I don't care what the politicians say. Nobody is
going to take your check away, and it's important for you to understand
that.
Matter of fact, if you were born in 1950--before 1950, nothing is
going to change. In other words, the system is solvent for you. The
problem is if you're a younger worker. And see, here's the problem: A
bunch of baby boomers just like me are getting ready to retire. I reach
retirement age in 4 years from now. That's a convenient time for me to
retire. [Laughter] I turn 62. The Government says when you're 62, you
can start drawing a check. There are a lot of us. As a matter of fact,
there's 40 million retirees today. There's over 70 million that will be
fully retired when the baby boomers retire completely. That's 70 million
people, nearly double the amount of people today on Social Security.
And secondly, we're living a lot longer. I try to stay in shape. I
exercise and all that, try to do--make smart decisions with my body. I
plan on living a long time, and so do a lot of other people my age.
We're living longer than the previous generation. You've got a lot of
people getting ready to retire who are living longer than the previous
generation, and we've been promised greater benefits. In other words,
you have people running for office saying, ``Vote for me. I'm going to
make sure the baby boomers get greater benefits than the previous
generation.'' So think about that math for a second, particularly if
you're a younger worker. You got a lot of people like me living longer
than ever before, been promised a lot of benefits, and there's fewer of
you paying into the system.
You see, in 1950, there was 15 workers paying into the system for
every beneficiary--16 workers for every beneficiary. Today, there is 3.3
workers, fewer of you all paying for people like me, who are going to
live longer and have been promised greater benefits.
Now, this is a pay-as-you-go system. You pay in, and we go ahead and
pay out in Washington. You pay into the system--some people say, ``Well,
there's a Social Security trust.'' We'll just take your money and hold
it for you and give it back to you when you retire. That's not the way
the system works. Part of my responsibility as your President is to tell
you exactly what's going on, to lay it right out there for you to hear.
The way it works in Social Security is your payroll taxes--and you pay a
lot of payroll taxes--go into the system, and we're paying for retirees,
like two of the people sitting up here today. And if we have any money
left over, it goes to fund Government programs. And all that's left is
an IOU. That's how the system works. And so you're paying in, and it's
going out. Nobody is--you're not paying in, and we're holding the money
for you. You're paying in, and it's going out. And in 2017, because baby
boomers like me are getting ready to retire, the system starts to go in
the red. In 2027, it's $200 billion a year in the red. In 2030, it's 300
billion; 2041, it is bankrupt. In other words, it's out.
So think about what I'm telling you. This is the math, folks; this
is exactly what's
[[Page 715]]
going to take place unless we do something about it. I'm ready to--
people like me are retiring. We expect the Government to make good on
the promise, of course. But yet we don't have enough money coming into
the system to do so. So a lot of younger workers out there will be
paying into a system that's bankrupt, and that's not fair.
And that's why I've taken on this issue, and that's why I'm going to
continue traveling the country talking about the need to make sure the
safety net of retirement is not only good for those who have retired,
but it's good for a generation coming up.
Now, I talked about--the other day I had a press conference, and
I've spoken about this issue at the--during my State of the Union
Address. I said, ``Look, I not only have a responsibility to lay out the
problem; I've got a responsibility to start helping people come up with
the solution.'' It's one thing to lay out the problem; it's another
thing to stand up and say, ``Here's some ideas to move forward. Here's
some ways we can work together.''
First and foremost, future generations ought to receive benefits
equal to or greater than the previous generation. So I think if you've
been working all your life, you ought to receive a benefit equal to or
greater than the promises that I got. I think that's a fair system. So
in other words, that's an important principle for people to listen to.
Secondly, if you work hard and--Social Security your entire life,
you will not retire into poverty. The current system today, by the way,
doesn't say that. The current system says you could work all your life
and may end up in poverty. I don't think that's fair. I think people who
have worked hard all their life and paying into the Social Security
system ought to have a program that makes sure they won't retire into
poverty.
And so therefore, I believe benefits for lower income workers should
grow faster than benefits for higher income workers, just to make sure
that someone doesn't retire into poverty. You know, you hear all this
talk about benefit cuts; we're talking about making sure benefits grow
at the rate of inflation. That's what we're talking about. You've been
promised something; it ought to grow at the rate of inflation. Today, if
you're an upper income worker, it grows at the rate of wage growth. What
I'm telling people is, is that ought to be applying for younger--lower
income workers but not all workers, so that the system can take care of
those at the lower income scale. That makes sense to me.
I hope it makes sense to the United States Congress. I think
Franklin Roosevelt would be proud to make sure of this: If you work all
your life and contribute to Social Security, you should not retire into
poverty. I think that's a principle that makes sense. I think it's also
important for our elected leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, to
come to the table. The American people now understand we have a problem.
And our leaders must choose: Do nothing and guarantee a massive tax hike
or a 30-percent benefit cut, or act now to keep the promises of Social
Security for the 21st century.
The reason I say do nothing and get a tax hike--if we don't do
anything, it's estimated that younger workers will have to pay an 18-
percent property--payroll tax to make good on the promises. If you don't
like 12, try 18. That's a lot. Payroll taxes are some of the highest
taxes people pay here in America, and the idea of not having the
political will to address Social Security and sticking younger workers
with a high payroll tax doesn't make any sense to me.
Now, I know, sometimes Washington locks down. They say, ``Well, we
can't do this. It will help a Republican or help a Democrat.'' We've got
to get rid of that kind of thinking in Washington, DC. We're talking
about--[applause].
I've got one other idea I want to talk to you about. By the way, the
idea I laid out the other day about growing benefits at the rate of
inflation for lower income workers--rate of inflation for upper income
[[Page 716]]
workers and rate of wages for lower income workers solves most of the
problem, long-term problem. There's some other things we can work with
Congress on to make sure that younger workers have got a system
available for them.
Nothing changes for our seniors; I'm talking about those of you born
prior to 1950. I'm really talking about the younger workers, because if
we don't do anything, you're going to have a huge bill to pay one way or
the other.
Now, I've got another idea that I want Congress to consider, and
that is being able to take some of your own money, your payroll tax that
you pay in the system, and the Government allow you to set up a personal
savings account. First of all, it's your money that you send into
Washington, not Washington's money. It's your money. We kind of like to
spend your money up there. Remember, this is a system you pay in; we
take care of the retirees; any money left over, we pay for other
programs. Pretty soon the amount of money you send in is going to be
less than the money owed to retirees, and it's going to go into the red.
That's why if we don't do anything, you're going to end up paying more
taxes or we have to cut benefits. But it's your money.
Secondly, I think it's really important to recognize that if you
grow your money at 4 percent or 5 percent, it's going to amount to a lot
more money than if you keep it in the Government and the Government can
grow it at 1.8 percent. It's how interest continues to grow. Some of you
may have 401(k)s, and you're watching that money begin to grow. And you
hold it in there, and it grows over time, and it starts to--the growth
starts to accumulate. It's called the compounding interest, and that's
an important concept which is not a part of the system today.
For example, if you have a person who has worked all of her or his
life at--earned $35,000, and the Government allows you to take a third
of your payroll taxes and set it up in a savings account, and that
account earns a reasonable rate of return, that, by the time you
retire--this is $35,000 over your lifetime, by the way--and you can take
out some of the money, a third of the money that you're paying into the
Government and set up an account that's your own, you'll end up with
$250,000 by the time it comes to retire--$250,000 plus that which the
Government can afford to pay you through Social Security. That's called
a personal savings account. That's your asset. The Government can't use
it. It's yours. Government can't spend it on other programs. It's a hard
asset.
Today, the program has got--leaves behind IOUs, paper IOUs in a
filing cabinet. I think when it comes time to make sure the safety net
is available for younger Americans, we ought to make sure there's hard
assets. You put money in the system; you ought to have an asset you call
your own as part of your retirement plan.
Now, people ask me all the time, ``Well, if I have a personal
savings account, what are the rules?'' Well, first of all, you can't
take the money and put it in the lottery. In other words, this isn't a--
you can't shoot dice with it. This is part of a retirement plan, and so
you'll be given the options to choose a conservative mix of bonds and
stocks. If you don't want to take any risks, you can put it in
Government-backed Treasury bills. But a Government-backed Treasury bill
gets a greater rate of return than the money that we've got in the
Federal Government. In other words, this is a chance to earn more, watch
your money grow in a better way through a conservative mix of bonds and
stocks.
This isn't a new idea, by the way. Guess who gets to do this right
now: Federal employees, Members of the Senate and the House of
Representatives. They've decided this is a pretty good idea for
themselves. Seems like to me, if it's good enough for them, it ought to
be good enough for Nissan plant workers.
[[Page 717]]
The good news is, these
four Members of the Congress
agree with me: If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for you,
that you ought to be given a chance, if you want--and that's the other
aspect. This is a voluntary personal savings account. This isn't the
Government saying, ``You've got to do this.'' This is saying, ``If you
want to do this, this option ought to be available.'' Some people may
not want to do it. I fully understand that. You stay in the Social
Security system, and when Congress gets it reformed and I sign the bill,
there will be a Social Security system. But I think you ought to be
given the choice. As a matter of fact, I think the more Government
trusts people with their own money, in this case, the better off the
country is.
Thirdly, I like the idea of people owning something. I don't believe
that ownership ought to be available just for a privileged few. I don't
believe that. I believe the more people are able to build assets they
call their own, the better off the country is. I want more people
saying, ``This is my asset. This is my money, and I'm going to leave it
to whomever I choose. If I have a son or a daughter, I want to be able
to pass it on to the next generation.''
In our country's history, the truth is a lot of people hadn't
accumulated assets. And now is the time to change that. I want people to
say, ``This is mine. I worked hard for this. I've watched this asset
base grow, and now I'm going to decide. I'm either going to use it for
my retirement, if I want to, or I may decide to leave it to my son or
daughter''--your choice. After all, it is your money.
I want to--I want it so that people can say, ``I own something.''
The more people own something in America, the more people are going to
say, ``I really care about the future of this country.'' The more people
own their home, the better off we are. The more people own their own
retirement system and watch it grow, the better off we are.
This plan is good for low-income people, particularly low-income
women. Take a 20-year-old mom earning $8 an hour over her career; under
my idea of things, when she retires at age 63, she'd have a $100,000
asset base, plus the Social Security plan. And that makes sense, to
spread the idea of ownership beyond just the so-called ``investor
class.'' I think it does.
I'm particularly concerned about a system that hurts widows or
spouses. If you--think about the system today. You work all your life;
say, you die before you're 62 years old. You worked 30 years or 40
years, and you leave a widow. If she's working, like most families are
now two-working households, if she's working, she'll--when she turns
time to retire, she'll get to choose her plan, her benefits or the
husband's benefits, which are ever higher, but not both. So the spouse
has been working all its life--his life, putting a lot of money in the
system, dies early, and the Government says, ``You can have one or the
other but not both,'' even though they've been working hard to pay in
the system, paying those payroll taxes.
If you allow somebody, if they so choose, to have a personal savings
account, you've got yourself an asset that you can pass on to your
spouse. It's your money. You can watch it grow, and you can decide where
that money goes. To me, this is a lot fairer system. It makes a lot of
sense to trust the people with their money.
So don't trust my judgment on this, alone. Trust somebody else,
named Sam Beard. He's joined us. He's an
expert. He's a fellow who has studied this issue a long time. He happens
to be a Democrat. I first got to know Sam when I put together a panel
headed by a former Senator from New York who was a Democrat, Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan. I got into office in 2001, I said--and
campaigned on it, by the way--I said, ``I want to do something about
Social Security if I win.'' And so I decided to put together a panel of
Democrats and Republicans to see what they
[[Page 718]]
came up with. First of all, they had the right spirit about all this
business. They didn't say, ``I'm serving on this to enhance one
political party over another.'' They said, ``We're people who want to
take an objective look. Is there a problem, and if so, can we do
something about it?''
So, Sam, thanks for joining. Welcome. You
might share some of your experiences on the Commission. Were people
trying to slug each other whole time there, or they actually have a good
conversation?
Samuel Beard. Well, first, Mr. President, I
want to tell you I'm honored to be here, and thank you for inviting me.
The next thing I want is just to underline the staggering leadership of
the President. If you think about it historically, Franklin Roosevelt
with the New Deal effected policy and politics for three generations.
This President, by talking about creating a stakeholder and shareowner
society, if we allow all Americans to set aside $1,000 a year into an
account which they own, it will be a watershed issue; it will be
historic. And your leadership is tremendous.
The President. Thank you, Sam. Thank you.
Mr. Beard. So I guess I've had the
privilege of doing this for 12 years, Mr. President; you're sort of a
newcomer.
The President. That's right, yes. [Inaudible]--otherwise my hair
wouldn't have gone white.
Mr. Beard. I've had the privilege of making
5,000 presentations all across the country, and I want to underline what
the President is saying. This is essential for the economic health and
future of America and to save Social Security, and it needs to be done
as a nonpartisan issue.
[At this point, Mr. Beard, president, Economic Security 2000,
Wilmington, DE, made further remarks.]
The President. Thanks, Sam. Good job. I
appreciate it. Well-spoken.
Deanie Smith.
Deanie Smith. My name is Deanie Smith. I'm
84 years old.
The President. You don't look a day over 82. [Laughter]
Mrs. Smith. Thank you, Mr. President.
Twenty years ago, I retired after about 30 years of Federal service. And
I draw my retirement. And then my husband, who was a veteran in World
War II--he's deceased now--I draw his Social Security. I'm not worried
about that. But it's my two baby boomers and their sons that I'm worried
about.
The President. Well, let me ask you something. You count on that
Social Security check?
Mrs. Smith. I do--needed.
The President. Yes. A lot of people count on that check. You know
what I'm talking about. You've got folks that are counting on the check.
You've got a grandmother or a grandfather that go to that mailbox, count
on the check.
Mrs. Smith. Go to the bank.
The President. Yes. And I understand when you talk about Social
Security, somebody is going to pop up and try to frighten Deanie
Smith or friends. That's how you stop things in
American politics; you just try to scare people. And I appreciate you
saying that you----
Mrs. Smith. I appreciate your saying it's
going to be safe too.
The President. Well, that's it, and I'm going to keep saying it,
because it's the truth. And everybody who's involved with this issue
knows it's the truth. That's important. It's important for younger
workers to hear we've got a problem, and it's important for people like
Deanie to understand she's going to get her
check.
Keep going. You're on a roll. [Laughter]
Mrs. Smith. Well, what I'm concerned about
is my son and my daughter and their two sons. Will there be anything
left? My son will be eligible to retire--well, he's already retired, but
he can't draw Social Security for 9 years. And my daughter is already--
--
[[Page 719]]
The President. This is a man who retired early.
Mrs. Smith. My daughter is 55, and she's
going to need some help too, and so are the two grandsons.
The President. I'd be really worried about your grandsons. See, if
you're a younger worker sitting out there or a kid in high school or
junior high, you've got a serious problem facing you. You heard the man:
Either going to pay 18-percent payroll tax, or there's going to be
significant benefit cuts. And they're not going to be cutting benefits
significantly on baby boomers. There's just too many of us. Therefore,
you're going to have to pay for it. That would be my guess about the
political dynamics.
This is a generational issue, folks. Once we assure the grandmoms
they're going to get their check--and you are going to get your check--
then you begin to hear what Deanie starts
saying, ``What about my grandkids?'' That's what people in Congress are
going to start hearing. They're going to hear, ``We've got a problem,''
and then we're going to hear grandparents say, ``I'm worried about my
grandkids, Member of Congress. I don't care what your party is. I don't
care what your political affiliation is. How about coming together to
solve this so we don't saddle a young generation with a huge tax bill?''
That's how I think about it.
And I appreciate you understanding that you're going to get your
check. You hold the rest of us to account to make sure we take care of
your grandkids.
Mrs. Smith. And I'm going to insist my
grandsons do the right thing.
The President. There you go. Welcome.
Coley Bailey, right out of Coffeeville,
Mississippi.
Coley Bailey. Yes, sir.
The President. What do you do for a living?
Mr. Bailey. I'm a cotton farmer.
The President. Cotton farmer.
Mr. Bailey. Yes, sir.
The President. You're probably going to tell me the cotton prices
aren't high enough and the weather is not any good.
Mr. Bailey. That's exactly what I was going
to say. [Laughter]
The President. Good. You got any kids?
Mr. Bailey. Yes, sir. I've got--my wife is
here in the audience. Her name is Jody. We've got two children: a
daughter, MacKenzie, is 4 years old, and then my son, Cole, is 4 months
old.
The President. Good. Well, so why is a farmer sitting up here
talking about Social Security?
Mr. Bailey. Well, my concern with it is
there won't be any Social Security for my wife and I when we reach
retirement age.
The President. You're 33?
Mr. Bailey. I'm 32.
The President. Thirty-two--I was trying to get you moving here a
little faster. [Laughter] You realize, if you're a self-employed farmer,
you put the whole 12.4 percent into the system.
Mr. Bailey. Yes, sir.
The President. You're putting 6.2 percent when you're working, but
if you're self-employed, small-business owners--a lot of small-business
owners here in Mississippi, a lot of farmers in Mississippi, a lot of
people working on their own account in Mississippi--they put the entire
12.4 percent in.
Mr. Bailey. Yes, sir.
The President. So you're doubly concerned.
Mr. Bailey. And also what's concerning
also, without the personal retirement accounts that you're proposing,
we're so close on the farming community with the finances; it would
really trouble a lot of them to go from the 12 percent to the 18
percent, plus pay that half of 18 percent that we will be required to
pay.
The President. Yes. See, what he's saying
is, there's a cloudy future. Do you know how many young people are
saying, ``I'm not so sure I'm going to see anything from Social
Security.'' It's beginning to sink in.
[[Page 720]]
People say, ``Well, I'm more likely to see a UFO than I am a Social
Security check if I'm 35 and under.'' It's beginning to--people are
beginning to understand the nature of the issue.
And I mean, people can say, ``Well, he's making up the numbers.''
These numbers are real, folks, that we're just talking about. You heard
Sam. He's studied this issue for a long time.
My job is to lay it out, to tell you the truth. You can figure out
whether or not somebody has got the right solution or not. But I'm
telling you right now, if you're 35 years old, you don't think you're
going to see a dime. A lot of people don't feel that way, and
particularly if you got kids. So he's looking
at putting 12.4 percent payroll tax into the system, not thinking he's
going to see something coming out of it. No wonder he's sitting up here
talking to the President; he's not out there plowing his fields.
Mr. Bailey. Yes, sir. We--one thing that my
wife and I have done, when we got married almost 9 years ago, we were
worried about--when we were talking about retirement, we didn't even
consider Social Security at that--9 years ago.
The President. Any other youngsters think that way? [Applause] Talk
to a lot--there you go. Sad, isn't it? We're going to change it. That's
why we're sitting here. That's why we're talking about the issue, is to
make sure that when I say, ``Are you worried about seeing your Social
Security,'' those hands won't go up, because we have done our duty--both
Republicans and Democrats have done our duty to fix the system.
Go ahead.
Mr. Bailey. What we have done to supplement
or to aid in our retirement is--since the Roth IRA has become
available--I think Senator Roth from Delaware introduced it in '97, and
it was available in 1998. So we----
The President. There you go--he's the kind
of farmer who understands history.
Go ahead.
Mr. Bailey. But we have fully funded the
maximum amount every year, the 8 years we've been available to us.
The President. Roth IRA, he's watching his
money grow. He and his wife said, ``I'm going to
put a little money aside and watch it grow,'' right?
Mr. Bailey. The one interesting thing is
that, of course, we can go online, or I can call Legg Mason here in
Jackson who controls it for me, and I can see what it's doing and how
it's doing. And just the way that the interest is compounded, and it's
grown over the time that we've done it, it's a good--I would definitely
be in support of the personal retirement account.
The President. See, he's used to investing.
You know what's amazing about America? When I was your age, I don't
think we spent a lot of time on 401(k)s--we're about to talk to a 401(k)
owner here in a minute--or IRAs. I just don't remember. I probably
didn't, since they didn't exist. And we got a whole group of youngsters
coming up in America today--32-year-old cotton farmer, I suspect a lot
of Nissan workers, who understand what it means to watch your own assets
grow and to make investment decisions.
In other words, there's a cultural change in America. Congress is
lagging behind the cultural change, but there's a lot of folks who are
comfortable about watching their own money grow, a whole lot of folks.
And it seems like to me to make sense that if Nissan thinks it's all
right, if this cotton farmer takes advantage of a program, that when it
comes time to making sure the Social Security system is modern, that we
ought to give workers all across the country the same opportunities.
Ready to go? Cynthia Roberts.
Cynthia Roberts. Again, thank you, Mr.
President.
The President. What do you do, Cynthia?
Mrs. Roberts. I'm a human resource
representative here at the Canton facility for Nissan.
The President. Right here?
[[Page 721]]
Mrs. Roberts. Right here.
The President. Is it okay for these people to take a little extra
time off? [Laughter]
Mrs. Roberts. I've worked here for about
3 years now and loved every minute of it. My thoughts are similar to
Coley's, as far as Social Security. I don't really think those benefits
will be here, not only for myself but also for my two children who are 7
and 2 years old.
The President. See, again, I know I'm getting repetitive, but I hear
this story a lot, a younger mom saying, ``Mr. President, I don't think
the benefits are going to be there for me. I'm worried about it.''
She's beginning to understand the math. You
a 401(k) owner?
Mrs. Roberts. I am a 401(k) owner.
The President. How cool is that? Owns her own assets. How does it work here at Nissan? How does
it work at Nissan?
Mrs. Roberts. Currently, what happens is
the 401(k), the company will match 60 percent for up to 5 percent.
The President. Yes. And so--are you watching--you're watching the
account pretty carefully?
Mrs. Roberts. I do watch. I get a
quarterly statement, and I do watch those moneys very closely. I do not
like to lose money. [Laughter]
The President. No, I don't blame you. Don't shoot any dice, then.
[Laughter]
Mrs. Roberts. But 401(k) has proved to
work out great for me and my family.
The President. See, it's interesting, isn't it? I can't tell you how
good it is for the country to be sitting next to Cynthia
Roberts, working right here at Nissan, and
she's talking to me about watching her assets grow. She gets a quarterly
statement. It's a statement that says, ``Here's what you own, and here's
how it's growing.'' It's hers. Nobody can take it away from her. The
Government can't decide, ``Well, we need this for another program.''
It's your money.
I think it makes sense in a modern Social Security system for
people, opening up a quarterly statement that the Government can't
spend, the Government can't take away, that you can decide what to do
with it. And that's what Cynthia is talking
about. Isn't that right?
Mrs. Roberts. That's right.
The President. Is it growing?
Mrs. Roberts. Yes, it has grown
substantially.
The President. Yes, has grown substantially. [Laughter] I can
promise you this: Your money--your money in the Government--if the
Government takes your money through your payroll tax, it's not growing
substantially. It's growing a little bitty. And at her age, that money begins--when it grows substantially
early on, and she keeps reinvesting, and it--it grows substantially a
lot quicker over time. And that's important for people to figure out.
Was it hard to invest your own money? Was it hard to get used to?
Mrs. Roberts. No, it wasn't hard. There
are different options. I currently use someone with our 401(k) company
to help me watch my moneys and to monitor the investments that I make.
The President. So is there--it's a mix of bonds and stocks?
Mrs. Roberts. It is mostly all bonds and
minimal stocks, but some stocks. I do take some risk.
The President. Sure. But she gets--well,
you're young, you ought to. She can design a portfolio. You hear what
she's saying? She's saying they give her a chance to manage her own
money, and she talks to an expert and gets to design the portfolio that
meets her needs. Doesn't that make sense? It's her money to begin with.
The Government ought to do the same thing through the Social Security
system. And then Cynthia gets to decide who to leave it to. Isn't that
right?
Mrs. Roberts. That is correct.
The President. Unless you decide to spend it when you retire.
Mrs. Roberts. No, I'm not going to spend
it. [Laughter]
[[Page 722]]
The President. So you view this as a way to not only make sure that
there's something for you when you retire--we'll get the Social Security
system fixed so that you can't sit up here with the next President you
visit with and say, ``I don't think I'm ever going to see a dime.'' I
think if we keep talking about this to Congress, it is going to say,
``Oops, people like Cynthia know we've got a
problem, and they expect us to get something done.'' So we're going to
keep working on it. But in the meantime, you're building up an asset
base--I presume with your children in mind.
Mrs. Roberts. That is correct. They are
always in mind.
The President. Yes, always on your mind.
Mrs. Roberts. Always on my mind.
The President. I'm afraid I'm always on my mother's mind too, you know? [Laughter] Anyway, thanks for
coming, and thanks for representing the workforce here. You did good,
really good.
I'm just curious--anybody else got a 401(k)? [Applause] I rest my
case. I rest my case. Are you watching your own money grow? Starting to
make sense to have that money you're contributing to the--through the
payroll tax to be able to--a part of that to be able to do the same
thing? Seems like it makes sense, to me.
Finally, we're going to end with DeLois Killen. Welcome.
DeLois Killen. Thank you, Mr. President.
It's an honor.
The President. Where are you from, DeLois?
Mrs. Killen. I am from Union, Mississippi.
The President. Union, Mississippi. And what do you do?
Mrs. Killen. I live in Union. I'm 71 years
old.
The President. And you're working.
Mrs. Killen. I am semi-retired. I work for
the city of Union at the police department as the dispatcher.
The President. There you go. Whatever you do, don't let her call your car plates. [Laughter] Good, thanks for
working.
Mrs. Killen. I need to work.
The President. You've been working all your life.
Mrs. Killen. I have been working all my
life. And if it wasn't for my Social Security check, I really couldn't
make ends meet.
The President. Right. But your Social Security check is not
providing enough so that you can retire.
Mrs. Killen. It is not. If I had known
what these younger people know now and had the opportunities that they
have, I would have had something besides Social Security.
The President. Yes, but that's it for you.
Mrs. Killen. It is.
The President. Yes. That's really important for people to
understand, is that DeLois counts on the Social Security check
she is----
Mrs. Killen. Very definitely.
The President. Yes, you're over retirement age--barely. [Laughter]
She has to keep working. The system didn't
provide enough for her to retire on.
Mrs. Killen. I'm just another desperate
housewife. [Laughter]
The President. This has been my week to be around funny women, you
know? [Laughter] Good one. [Laughter] Once again, I'm speechless.
[Laughter] Keep going. Now, you're on a roll.
Mrs. Killen. Well, I depend on my Social
Security for half of my income at least.
The President. Yes.
Mrs. Killen. And I'm so grateful that you
say we are not going to lose it, because I intend to be here a long time
yet.
The President. That's right.
Mrs. Killen. And I want to be self-
sufficient. I want to take care of myself.
The President. There you go.
Mrs. Killen. And with Social Security
benefits coming in regularly, I can plan for the future.
[[Page 723]]
The President. That's good. It's really important for our seniors
when they hear this debate to have peace of mind, that we're really
talking about the youngsters, the young workers, and not you,
DeLois. The debate is aimed at making sure the
safety net is good for a younger generation of Americans. You're fine.
And people born prior to 1950 are fine. But if you're young and working,
think about this: The system goes broke in 2041. It's not all that long
from now, really, when you think about it. And you work all your life
putting your money into a system that's going broke--a little
discouraging.
We have an obligation and a duty to fix this. I'm going to continue
traveling the country, DeLois, talking about the problem. People in
America are beginning to understand we've got a problem. People are
beginning to figure it out. A lot of younger Americans are now beginning
to pay attention to this issue. If I were you, I'd be paying attention
to it too. You got a payroll tax, putting your payroll tax in the system
that's going broke. I'd be out there wondering what the heck is going to
happen in Washington, DC, to make sure the money I'm putting in is
worthwhile.
I'm going to continue assuring our seniors that they're going to
receive their checks. You tell your grandma and granddads and your
mother and dads, this Government of yours will keep its promise. And I'm
going to continue talking to the younger people of America and say that
we're going to be wise about how we fix the system. We're going to fix
the safety net, and as we do, we're going to make it a better deal for
you. As we do, we're going to let you take some of your own money and
watch it grow so you can build your own asset base, so you can pass it
on to whomever you chose.
We've got a great opportunity here to show the American people that
Washington isn't all politics, that Washington has got the capacity to
rise above partisan bickering and solve an important problem once and
for all. And when we do, when we do, and when we get it done, we'll all
be able to say we have done our duty.
I want to thank you all for giving me a chance to come by. God bless
you all, and God bless our families. God bless America.
Note: The President spoke at 12:17 p.m. at the Nissan North America
Manufacturing Plant. In his remarks, he referred to Daniel A. Gaudette,
senior vice president for North American manufacturing and quality
assurance, James C. Morton, senior vice president for administration and
finance, Greg Daniels, senior vice president for U.S. manufacturing, and
Dave Boyer, vice president of manufacturing in Canton, Nissan North
America, Inc.; Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck of Mississippi; and Travis Lane Little,
president pro tempore, Mississippi State Senate.