[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 10 (Monday, March 14, 2005)]
[Pages 405-413]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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' 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.

[[Page 406]]

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 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

[[Page 407]]

you're going to find the conversation to be interesting. We've got a 
granddad and a 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, 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.''

[[Page 408]]

    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 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

[[Page 409]]

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]
    Dr. 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 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

[[Page 410]]

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 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 going 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.

[[Page 411]]

    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 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, Montgomery, 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 
monies that they would have paid into the savings

[[Page 412]]

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 monies? 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 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.

[[Page 413]]

    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 Abbas (Abu Mazen) of 
the Palestinian Authority.