[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[March 11, 2005]
[Pages 422-430]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in a Discussion on Strengthening Social Security in Shreveport, 
Louisiana
March 11, 2005

    The President. Thanks for coming. Please be seated. Gosh, it's good 
to be in a part of the world that I'm real familiar with. [Laughter] 
Pretty close to home. Sounds like to me some Texans snuck across the 
border. I'm delighted to be here at Centenary College--Bill 
Anderson, the chairman, and Ken 
Schwaub, the president. I want to thank the 
students. I thank the students who are here to listen. This is going to 
be an educational experience for you. I've got a lot of educating to do 
to convince people not only do we have a problem, but we need to come 
together and come up with a solution to Social Security.
    But before I get there, I do want to recognize some people, and I've 
got a few comments about international politics, the world in which we 
live. First, I'm sorry Laura isn't with me. 
[Applause] Yes, I know it. She's great, isn't she? She's doing just 
fine. She's going to be happy to know I saw our mutual friend Ernie 
``The Big Cat'' Ladd who is here 
today. Cat, I'll tell her I saw you, and you're looking good. She's 
looking good, too, by the way. [Laughter] She is a great First Lady and 
a great mom, and I love her dearly.
    I'm real proud of the job Congressman Jim McCrery is doing. He's one of the smartest, most capable Members 
of the House of Representatives. He said, ``You make sure you get down 
to the district.'' And I said, ``Well, if I put you on Air Force One, 
will you come with me?'' He said, ``How fast can I get on the plane?'' 
[Laughter]
    Senator David Vitter is with us. David, 
proud you're here. There are two other Members of the United States 
Congress with us today. Congressman Rodney 
Alexander--proud you're here, Rodney. Rodney is from this part of the 
world and reflects the values of north Louisiana in the United States 
Congress. And Bobby Jindal--Bobby, 
congratulations. Thank you guys for coming. Proud you're here. Looking 
forward to working with you on solving big problems for our Nation.
    I want to thank Mayor Keith Hightower 
from the city of Shreveport for being here. Mr. Mayor, I'm honored 
you're here. I appreciate you coming. Mayor George DeMent of Bossier City--thank you, George. Proud you two guys 
are here. Just fill the potholes. [Laughter] You didn't ask for any 
advice. [Laughter] I want to thank all the other State and local 
officials who have joined us.
    Today I met a fine young lady named Lindsey Allen at the airport. [Applause] A couple of her relatives 
showed up. [Laughter] Probably wondering why I would mention her. I'll 
tell you why I mention her. She is a volunteer for Hospice of 
Shreveport/Bossier. She is a--she takes time out of her life to provide 
comfort for people who are sick. And the reason I mention this is I want 
particularly the college kids here to understand that if you want to 
serve your Nation, a great way to do so is to take time out of your busy 
life and love somebody who hurts. If you want to serve your Nation, 
mentor a child. If you want to serve your Nation, feed the hungry, 
provide shelter to the homeless, become a soldier in the army of 
compassion, and you can help change America. And I want to thank Lindsey 
Allen. Where are you, Lindsey? There she is. Thanks for coming, Lindsey, 
and thanks for being a volunteer.
    The world is changing and the world is becoming more peaceful 
because more societies are listening to the people that live within 
their borders and are becoming democracies. Think about what's happened 
in

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a quick period of time. We defended ourselves. We upheld doctrine. We 
liberated millions from the clutches of the Taliban, and last fall, 
millions went to the polls to vote for a President. And that's important. It's important because free 
societies are peaceful societies. Palestinians voted. And I believe 
someday, I believe it's within reach, that there will be a Palestinian 
democracy living side by side with Israel in peace.
    And then the people in Iraq defied the murder of terrorists and 
said, ``You will not intimidate us because we want to be free,'' and by 
the millions, they went to the polls to vote for their leaders. And I'm 
not surprised. I'm not surprised. I was pleased but not surprised 
because I understand that freedom is not America's gift to the world; 
freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world. 
And no tyrant and no dictator can extinguish the desire for people to 
live in freedom.
    So during the next 4 years of my administration, I will use our 
considerable influence and work with our friends and allies to help 
others around the world realize their chance to be free because I 
understand freedom and democracy will make this world a peaceful place 
for generations to come.
    I also want to say something about my trip to Europe. I had a great 
trip to Europe. I talked to our friends and allies there. I became--got 
a common agreement with the French, for example, to make it abundantly 
clear to Syria that the Syrian troops and Syrian intelligence officers 
must leave Lebanon so Lebanon's democracy can grow and flourish. As well 
we worked together on the issue of Iran, to make sure that we speak with 
one voice to the Iranian regime, that they should abandon any ambitions 
for nuclear weapons for the sake of peace in the world. I am pleased 
that we are speaking with one voice with our European friends. I look 
forward to working with our European friends to make it abundantly clear 
to the Iranian regime that the free world will not tolerate them having 
a nuclear weapon.
    A couple other points I want to make before we get to the issue at 
hand. I do want to talk right quick about the economy and one way to 
make sure this economy continues to grow. Last week we got news that we 
added 262,000 new jobs last month. That means more Americans are working 
today than ever before in our Nation's history, and that's positive 
news.
    Our economic plans are working, but there's more to do. And I gave a 
speech in Ohio earlier this week, and I made it clear to Congress: Stop 
debating about energy and get me an energy plan that encourages 
conservation, environmentally sensitive exploration for natural gas and 
hydrocarbons here in the United States. Let's encourage renewable 
sources of energy. Let's use taxpayers' money to explore ways to have 
clean coal technology. What I'm saying to you is, is that we need to get 
moving on becoming less dependent on foreign sources of oil.
    And I want to thank McCrery and 
Vitter and Bobby and 
Rodney for their work on this important 
issue. It's my belief, if we keep talking about the issue of energy 
independence, we'll get us a bill. And we'll get us a bill that makes 
sense for all Americans.
    Now I want to talk about Social Security. It's a big issue. It's a 
big issue because it affects everybody's life. First, let me start off 
by telling you, FDR did a good thing. Franklin Roosevelt did a good 
thing when he set up the Social Security system. You know why I say 
that? I say that because it's helped a lot of retirees. It has worked. 
It has worked, and therefore, one of the things that I want to tell the 
people here in this audience and all across Louisiana and in east Texas 
and whoever else is listening: If you're getting a check, nothing will 
change; if you have retired, not one thing is going to change when it 
comes to Social Security. The United States Government will keep its 
commitment. I don't

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care what the advertisements say. I don't care what the political 
pamphlets say. I don't care what the politicians say. Nobody is going to 
take away your check.
    But the math has changed since Franklin Roosevelt was the President. 
When they set up the system, there was a lot of workers paying into the 
system for every retiree. As a matter of fact, in 1950, there were 16 
workers for each beneficiary. That meant the system could work. It's a 
pay-as-you-go system, by the way. People pay in, and the money goes out 
to pay for the benefits. Some people say, ``What about the Social 
Security trust,'' as if the Government collects your money and holds it 
in your account and then, when you retire, gives it back to you. That's 
not how it works. The Government collects your money, and they spend it. 
[Laughter] And they spend it on retirement benefits, but they were 
spending it--or we spent it on other things too.
    Since the 1950s, a couple of things have happened. People are having 
fewer babies, and the baby boomers are getting ready to retire. I happen 
to be one. As a matter of fact, I turn 62 in 2008. That's a good enough 
time for me to retire--[laughter]--just about right timing. And there's 
a lot of me--people like me. There are a lot of baby boomers. I'm just 
the beginning of the baby boomer year. There's a whole lot of people 
getting ready to retire, and we are living longer than the previous 
generation and the previous generation. So you're beginning to get--when 
I said the math is changing, I hope you're beginning to get a picture of 
what I'm talking about, more retirees, living longer, plus we've been 
promised more benefits than the previous generation; a lot of people 
getting paid more benefits, living longer years, and fewer people paying 
into the system.
    And that means we've got a problem. Today, there is--3 to 1 paying 
into the system. In 20 years, there will be two workers for every 
retiree. Means when you're working, you're having to pay a lot more for 
me than previous generations. And so what ends up happening is, in 2018, 
as you can see on that chart, the system goes into the red--in other 
words, more money going out than coming in. And it goes worse every 
year. In 2027, it's going to cost $200 billion for the Government to 
fund the promises to the baby boomers like me. That's 200 billion above 
the payroll taxes we're collecting. And every year it gets worse.
    So if you're a younger person sitting out there, you ought to start 
to say, ``My goodness, the system doesn't look very good for me.'' It's 
fine for seniors. It's fine for those who are near retirement. It is not 
in good shape for the people who are going to have to pay for the baby 
boomers who are fixing to retire. And so I've seen the problem. And I 
think it's a significant enough problem to put it square in the agenda. 
My job as the President is to confront problems and not pass them on to 
future Presidents and future Congresses.
    And that's why I've come to Shreveport, Louisiana, to explain it as 
plainly as I can, in plain Texan, that we have a problem. And the 
problem is, how is the younger generation going to pay for all of the 
promises that the Government can't keep? Major tax increases, 
significant benefit cuts, that's what's going to have to happen unless 
we act now. People say, ``Well, 2018 is a long way down the road.'' 
Well, it's not. It is right around the corner. It is close by. It means 
it is time for people from both political parties to set aside our 
partisanship and come to the table.
    And so in my State of the Union Address, I stood up and said, ``All 
options are on the table.'' I said, ``If you've got a good idea, bring 
them forward. I'm interested in listening to them.'' I said, ``If you've 
got an idea as to how to permanently fix Social Security''--we don't 
need a bandaid approach; we need to fix it once and for all so we can 
say to the American people, ``We have done our duty''--``bring forward 
your ideas.''

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    Tim Penny here is on the stage. He is a 
former Democrat Congressman. You're going to hear him talk. He has had 
some good ideas. I'm interested in any idea, and I put out some of my 
own as to how to permanently fix it and how to make sure the system is 
as good as it can be for youngsters. And one of them is to allow young 
workers to put aside some of your own money in a personal savings 
account.
    And let me tell you why I think that's important. First of all, that 
unto itself is not going to fix Social Security. We need to do more than 
that. But it is a way to say to younger workers that you're going to be 
able to come closer to the benefits that have been promised to you, 
because by putting money aside, you will be able--in a private account, 
private markets, investing in the private markets, you'll be able to get 
a better rate of return on your own money than the Government could get 
on your own money. And as that rate of return compounds, as you save, 
your account grows bigger and bigger and bigger. If you're a worker 
making $35,000 over your lifetime, and this plan says you can take 4 
percent of your payroll taxes and set it aside in a personal savings 
account, that by the time you retire, having invested in conservative 
stocks and bonds, you will have a capital base of $250,000 in your 
personal account. That's how interest works. It compounds. It grows.
    Now, people say, ``What does that mean, a personal savings account? 
Can I take the money and go right down to the road where I was staying 
in this part of the world and put it in the slots?'' [Laughter] You 
can't do that. In other words, there is a set of investment vehicles, 
conservatively designed, to get a better rate of return than what your 
money's getting in the Social Security system, but you get to choose a 
mix of stocks and bonds.
    We've done this before, by the way. Federal employees get to do 
this. Federal employees get to take some of their own money and put it 
in an employee Thrift Savings Plan that grows, that compounds with 
interest. It's happening. People know what I'm talking about. This isn't 
a new concept. The only thing new is that it will be a part of the 
Social Security program.
    Now, once you retire, you can't take all your money out at once. You 
hold that money in an account, and you get the interest from your--from 
the corpus of your account, to complement the Social Security check, 
however big that is, that the Government pays you. So in other words, 
it's a part of the Social Security system, retirement system.
    And let me tell you some of the benefits of this. First of all, you 
own it; it's yours. The Government can't take it away from you. You know 
what brings joy into my heart? When I hear that more minority families 
own a home now than ever before in our Nation's history. I love the fact 
that more people are owning something. There are more businessowners. 
Small businesses are flourishing across America. When people--when a 
person owns something, they have a vital stake in the future of the 
country. When somebody opens up an account that says, ``Here's your 
stocks and bonds, and here's how they've been growing over the last 
quarter,'' people will say, ``Well, I think I better pay attention to 
what the Government is doing to make sure that they put policies in 
place that will make the economy grow.''
    Secondly, you can pass this account on to whomever you choose. It's 
yours. Social Security system right now, as you'll hear, isn't fair for 
people who pass away prior to age 62. The money just goes away. But 
under this plan, you'll have an asset base, something you own, something 
you can leave to whomever you choose.
    Thirdly, I like the idea of families being able to pass wealth from 
one generation to the next. And I think it ought to be in families all 
across the--all kinds of families ought to be able to do this. You know, 
there's this kind of sense about, ``Well, this may not work because some 
people aren't

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capable of investing,'' as if the investor class was only a certain type 
of person. That's not what I agree with. I agree--I think that everybody 
is plenty capable. I think that everybody ought to be given the 
opportunity to save their own money and put it aside as a part of the 
Social Security trust.
    Finally, it makes sense to encourage savings in America. The more 
savings we have, the more capital there is for growth in the economy. 
One of the things we're going to have to be careful about is not saving 
enough money. The capitalist system works by encouraging savings, so 
there is capital to invest, so that small businesses can flourish, so 
that the entrepreneurial spirit stays strong. And so this is an idea 
that I think Congress needs to consider, and I put it on the table. And 
I expect people to come to that table in good faith to discuss not only 
my idea but their ideas.
    Now, I'm having a good time traveling around our country. I like to 
get out of Washington frequently. [Laughter] I've been to this--last 
couple of days I've been to Tennessee and Alabama and Kentucky and now 
Louisiana. I'm heading home for dinner. [Laughter] Next week I'm going 
down to Florida--check on the brother. [Laughter] 
After that I'm going to go out of Crawford, and I'm going to head out 
west to Arizona and New Mexico and Colorado. The reason I'm telling you 
this is I want everybody involved in the process to know that I believe 
the American people are going to determine the fate of this issue, and I 
intend to take my message out week after week after week so the people 
can hear it.
    Tim Penny is with us, the great State 
of Minnesota. Served in the United States Congress and is, you're about 
to hear, an articulate advocate of making sure the Social Security 
system is reformed and modernized.
    Tim, welcome.

[At this point, former Representative Timothy J. Penny, senior fellow 
and co-director, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute Policy Forum, Waseca, MN, 
made brief remarks.]

    The President. Well, I appreciate that. I think--as I told you, the 
guy is articulate, and he's sensible. It's 
a commonsense approach. Thanks for coming, Tim.
    All right. Gwen Comer. Welcome.
    Gwendolyn Comer. Thank you, Mr. 
President.
    The President. Good to see you.
    Ms. Comer. Thank you. Good to see you.
    The President. Now, they tell me--you're not--you didn't sneak 
across the border, did you?
    Ms. Comer. Yes, I sneaked across. No one 
was looking. [Laughter]
    The President. You're from close to Jefferson, Texas.
    Ms. Comer. Yes. Gray is about 20 miles 
east of Jefferson.
    The President. One of the great parts of my home State is east 
Texas, by the way.
    Ms. Comer. Yes.
    The President. Tell us about yourself.

[Ms. Comer, retiree, Gray, TX, made further remarks.]

    The President. See, it's interesting. Listen real carefully to what 
she said. She said her husband worked for 40 
years, passed away, and his money just--their savings, the money he 
worked hard to earn on their behalf is gone. Now, she's going to get 
Social Security as a result of her job. But that money just isn't 
around. And had he had the chance to put money aside in a personal 
account, that personal account would have been passed on to her as part 
of their family's asset base.
    Ms. Comer. That's right.
    The President. Is there any doubt in your mind that you're not going 
to get your check?
    Ms. Comer. No, indeed.
    The President. That's important for people to hear. I understand a 
lot of people

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around the country, a lot of people in Louisiana, a lot of people in 
Texas rely on that Social Security check.
    Ms. Comer. That's right.
    The President. And it frightens people to hear political people like 
me talking about the issue, because they're thinking, ``Well, really 
what he's saying is he's giving me a warning, the Government is not 
going to give me my check.'' I campaigned on this issue in 2000 and 
2004. In 2000, they said, ``If George W. gets elected, you're not going 
to get your check.'' That's what some of the ads were. I did get 
elected, and people got their check. I want you to remind your neighbors 
of that.
    You got any grandkids?
    Ms. Comer. Yes, sir.
    The President. How many grandkids?
    Ms. Comer. My husband and I were blessed 
with four children. We have 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. 
So we're blessed.
    The President. Sure are. See, this is a generational issue. I'm here 
to put more and more people on who've retired, saying, ``Now that you've 
comforted me, you better take care of my grandchildren.''
    Ms. Comer. That's right.
    The President. That's an important issue. And I want the seniors 
here to understand that this issue is really about your grandchildren, 
and we want your advice on how best to make sure that the system works 
for your grandchildren. There's a lot of grandparents who, when they 
hear the math, realize that the numbers are going to be pretty 
significant when it comes time to either raising taxes or doing whatever 
is needed to make the promises and that now is the time for Government 
to take care of the next generation. Social Security has worked for this 
generation. It really has. And the fundamental question is, can we make 
it work for the next generation coming up? That's the task at hand. 
That's the debate. That's the issue.
    Good job. You ready? Ms. Helen Lyons, 
sitting right here next to the President of the United States.
    Helen Lyons. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Welcome.
    Ms. Lyons. Thank you. This is a great honor. 
These moments will never be forgotten, nor will time erase.
    My name is Helen Lyons. I am 78 years old, a widow. We were blessed, 
my husband and I, with three sons. They were educated in Oakland, 
California, and all three of them are ministers. This is my oldest son, 
Bishop Brandon.
    The President. Are you still listening to your mother?
    Larry Brandon. Yes, indeed. I better.

    The President. Me too. [Laughter]

    Ms. Lyons. I was born in Texas.

    The President. There you go.

[Ms. Lyons, retiree, Shreveport, LA, made further remarks.]

    Ms. Lyons. I am living with my son and wife 
and their two children. And I have two grandchildren here today.

    The President. That's great. You know, let me stop you right there. 
A responsible society is one in which people take, first and foremost, 
responsibility for their family, and I want to thank you for taking 
responsibility for your mom after she took 
responsibility for you all these years.

    Ms. Lyons. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. 
President, you've already answered my Social Security question that I 
had for you.

    The President. Bring it up again. I can't answer it enough. 
[Laughter]

    Ms. Lyons. All right. Will our benefits, as 
senior citizens, be affected?

    The President. She asked a question a lot of 
people are asking, and I know that. I know a lot of people are asking 
whether or not they're going to get their check. And we're sitting 
behind stage, and Helen Lyons looks at me, and she's kind of wondering, 
``What is this guy all about? I've agreed to get on the stage with him, 
but

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have they got a plan to make sure that I don't get--what I need to live 
on?'' That's--a lot of folks are asking that question.
    Now, I'm going to say it here again, and I'm going to say it all 
around the country, because this is the--as Tim said, the truth: You're going to get your check; the 
Government will honor this commitment. What I can't tell you we're going 
to be able to honor is our commitment to your son and your 
grandchildren. I can tell you we'll honor our commitment to you. But I 
cannot make that promise until Congress comes together with the 
administration to make the promise to the children and grandchildren of 
this good woman. But thank you for asking me 
that question again.
    Ms. Lyons. Thank you, Mr. President. I am 
deeply concerned about my children, grandchildren, and great-
grandchildren.
    The President. Yes, I don't blame you, particularly after you listen 
to the facts.
    Why don't you introduce your son? Was he a 
good boy growing up?
    Ms. Lyons. Mr. President, he was. [Laughter]
    The President. That's good.
    Ms. Lyons. This is my son, Bishop Larry 
Brandon. He's pastor of the Praise Temple Full Gospel Baptist Church of 
Shreveport, Louisiana.
    The President. That's good. Very well done. Bishop.

[Bishop Brandon made brief remarks.]

    The President. Yes, let's stop there for a minute, because this is 
an important part of helping introduce people to financial literacy. I 
mean, there's programs all over the country. People say, ``Well, 
there's--certain people can't invest. They just don't know about it,'' 
or ``It's risky if we let certain people invest.'' But the way to tackle 
the issue is not to deny people the great aspect of ownership but to 
reach out to faith organizations, community-based organizations, and 
help people become financially literate. We shouldn't run away from 
ownership. We ought to provide the means to encourage ownership, and I 
want to thank you for that.
    Bishop Brandon. Thank you. Thank you.
    The President. Let's face it. Let's face it square on. There are 
some neighborhoods in which financial literacy has not been passed on 
from one generation to the next. And we've got to break that cycle. 
We've got to do a better job. Mr. Pastor, 
thank you for taking that on, and I'm glad to know the Government is 
working with the faith-based community to reach out into all 
neighborhoods in Shreveport, Louisiana, and elsewhere to help people 
become more financially literate. Keep going. [Laughter]

[Bishop Brandon made further remarks.]

    The President. Right, right. Let me talk about a couple of things. 
We're working on the retirement aspect of Social Security, but one way 
to make sure that the survivor benefits are whole and intact is to give 
a person the opportunity to develop an asset base that you can pass on 
to whomever you want. That is a tangible asset. It's not a promise; it 
is a tangible asset to pass on to whomever you want. That's one of the 
major differences between the Social Security system that I envision and 
the current system. And so there will be a survivor benefit aspect to 
Social Security, but it will be enhanced by this notion of asset 
accumulation.
    And secondly, his question is a good 
question, and that is, is it possible to design a system that makes it 
more fair for people who are impoverished? Can we work with Congress to 
make this system as progressive as possible? And the answer is, 
absolutely we want to work with Congress to do that. We want the 
retirement system to be a solid safety net for all our citizens.
    I've talked to Jim McCrery about 
this. He's got a compassionate heart. He understands the ability to make 
the system work for all. And so I want to thank you for bringing that 
up, Pastor. My attitude about

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this is that if people have got a good idea as to how to make the system 
work toward--to help make sure people don't end up in poverty at 
retirement, please bring their ideas forward. All ideas should be on the 
table to make this system permanently solved, not a 35-year fix or a 75-
year fix, which never turns out to be a 75-year fix, by the way.
    Let me remind you, when you hear the rhetoric ``75-year fix,'' in 
1983--and Tim was in Congress then--they worked on solving the problem 
of Social Security. They said, ``Well, we'll put together a 75-year 
solution.'' That's 1983. Well, we're sitting here in 2005. It didn't 
make it very long. That's because the demographics are changing 
dramatically, and we've got to address the math to permanently fix it. 
So I'm not interested in bandaids, 75-year fixes. I want there to be a 
permanent solution to Social Security.
    Sarah Joy Hays, representing the youth of 
America, as you can see, at least on this stage. [Laughter]
    Sarah Joy Hays. That's a lot of pressure. 
[Laughter]
    The President. You can handle it.
    Ms. Hays. Thank you.
    The President. You attend?
    Ms. Hays. Louisiana State University.
    The President. LSU--I was honored to give the graduation speech 
there last year. Tell them thank you.
    Ms. Hays. Will do.
    The President. Why are you sitting here?
    Ms. Hays. Well, I'm a senior in 
communication studies. I graduate next December. And I currently work 
part-time at the Gap. And every couple weeks--[laughter].
    The President. Probably going to give me some advice on my clothes.
    Ms. Hays. We'll save that for later. 
[Laughter]
    The President. Okay.
    Ms. Hays. Every couple of weeks, about 
$40 is deducted from my paycheck, and that's going into Social Security. 
But I'm afraid that with the system as it stands right now, that will 
not provide a safety net for me when I'm ready to retire.
    The President. We're happy you're putting in the 40 right now, 
aren't we? [Laughter]
    Ms. Hays. You're welcome. [Laughter]
    The President. The question is, will there be something for you?
    Ms. Hays. Exactly. And with your new 
reforms, I think that this is a positive thing for my generation 
especially, and I think it will also give us incentive to study economy 
and to know what's going on around us as well as educate us in how to 
invest our own money wisely.
    The President. Yes, it's amazing, you know, there is--a lot of 
people are learning what it means to invest their own money, 401(k)s. I 
presume people out here have got a 401(k). That's a defined contribution 
plan. That is your money. You're watching it grow. You're investing it, 
and it becomes your--part of your retirement package.
    The younger--I don't remember, when we were coming up, talking about 
401(k)s. I certainly don't remember worrying about whether or not Social 
Security would be solvent, either. It was taken for granted. And now, 
all of the sudden, we showed up on the ledgers saying, ``Give us our 
checks, starting in 4 years.'' And so what Sarah is saying is she's not so sure her generation can carry 
the load, particularly since there's going to be two workers for every 
me, every retiree.
    You know, they asked a 21-year-old--one time a 21-year-old person 
told me, she said--and I think this came out in a survey--that you're 
more likely to see a UFO than get the Social Security check. [Laughter] 
Is that the way you're----
    Ms. Hays. I think that's probably a safe 
consensus on how we feel.
    The President. Well, it's an interesting concept, when you think 
about it. Once we assure the seniors they're going to get their checks, 
and grandparents start asking elected officials, and Sarah Joy starts asking elected officials, ``What are you 
going to

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do about us?'' See, that's where the debate is going to be headed. 
Because you're going to get your check if you've retired. It's the 
people coming up that are starting to ask the question. And one of the 
reasons I asked Sarah Joy to join us, because she's representative of a 
lot of people. They said, ``Oh, don't worry, 21-year-olders don't pay 
attention to this.'' I don't think it's true.
    Ms. Hays. Neither do I.
    The President. That's good. You got any other wisdom?
    Ms. Hays. Well, I've been imparted some 
wisdom by some student government presidents. I've been working on 
executive staff at LSU for the past couple of years, so I've been 
blessed to be a part of that system.
    The President. So people are talking about this.
    Ms. Hays. Yes, sir.
    The President. That's important. And they're going to keep talking 
about it, because I'm going to keep talking about it. I want people to 
understand, people who are 21 years old, that you're facing a steep hill 
to climb if the Government doesn't act. And there's a lot of talk in 
Washington about, you know, ``Bush brought this up. Why did he bring it 
up?'' And I told you why I brought it up. But I also believe this. I 
believe when the people figure out we have a problem and seniors hear 
that nothing's going to change, woe to the politician who doesn't come 
to the table; woe to the person who tries to block this for partisan 
reasons. The people of this country want problem solvers, not problem 
creators. They are unhappy with the status quo. It's time to come 
together and save the Social Security system for generations to come.
    I'm honored you gave me a chance to come to Shreveport, Louisiana. 
May God bless you, and may God continue to bless our country.

Note: The President spoke at 1:45 p.m. in the Gold Dome at the Centenary 
College of Louisiana. In his remarks, he referred to William G. 
Anderson, chairman, board of trustees, and Kenneth Schwaub, president, 
Centenary College of Louisiana; Ernie ``The Big Cat'' Ladd, former 
professional football player and wrestler; and Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.