[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 11 (Monday, March 21, 2005)]
[Pages 458-469]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion on Strengthening Social Security in Pensacola, 
Florida

March 18, 2005

    The President. Thank you, Governor. Please be seated. Thanks for 
coming. I am glad to be back under better circumstances. It was my honor 
to come and represent our Government during what was a terrible tragedy, 
and that was Hurricane Ivan. I want to thank the mayors of the 
communities here. I want to thank the base commanders. I want to thank 
people responsible for helping people get their lives back in order.
    I still saw a lot of blue roofs flying in. So I know there's still a 
lot of work to do. But I--it was such an honor to work with Jeb and 
Congressman Miller and members of the delegation and the mayors to try 
to do our duty to get resources to people who need help. And so I want 
to congratulate the stalwart citizens of this part of the world. I was 
struck by the devastation. I was pleased by the sense of spirit when we 
came down here, a spirit that has been manifested in what is obviously 
an ongoing recovery. But we're still paying attention to you. And again, 
I want to thank you for your courage.
    Before I talk about a big issue, I've got some other things to say. 
They used to say, ``Well, you know, he's got his daddy's eyes

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but his mother's mouth,''--[laughter]--which means I'm about to talk a 
lot. No--[laughter]--I do want to thank our panelists, including my 
mother. What a great honor that Mom is here. We're going on from here to 
Orlando. I'm going on to Crawford, and Mom is headed over to work with 
Jeb on raising money for literacy. And it's--I'm sorry Laura is not with 
me.
    Audience members. Aw-w-w!
    The President. Yes, I know. I used to oftentimes--all the time--say 
she was the country's greatest First Lady. Wait a minute. At least make 
it a tie. [Laughter] I love her dearly. She's a fabulous mom, great 
wife, and she really is a spectacular First Lady. She sends her best and 
love to Mom and to the great Governor of the great State of Florida, 
Jeb, and to you all. She's--I'm sorry she couldn't be here.
    Speaking about brothers and great Governors, he's doing a fabulous 
job for Florida. He's straightforward. He's plainspoken. He does what he 
says he's going to do. And I think that's important, and it's a good 
lesson for people who are paying attention to public servants, people 
who are wondering whether or not it makes sense to run for office. He 
came into office with his integrity, and he's going to leave with his 
integrity.
    I appreciate Gerald McKenzie and David Sam from Pensacola Junior 
College. We call them community colleges in Florida and Texas. I can't 
tell you how important the community college system is to make sure that 
workers, both old and young, gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs 
of the 21st century. I am a big supporter of community colleges, as is 
Jeb, because we understand the community college system is available, it 
is affordable, and it is flexible. If there needs to be a curriculum 
change to help people, help employers find workers, help hospitals find 
nurses, community colleges are able to do so.
    I want to thank the Members of Congress for making sure that my 
community college initiative is funded, not for only the sake of 
community colleges but, more importantly, for the sake of people who 
need a skill set to fill the jobs of the 21st century. So I want to 
thank the Pensacola Junior College folks for being so generous in the 
hospitality.
    I'm traveling with some pretty good company. Besides Mother and Jeb, 
Senator Mel Martinez is with us today. Senator, thank you. I mentioned 
him once; I get to mention him twice, since this is his district--
Congressman Jeff Miller, doing a fine job. Thanks for being here. And 
then we've got some folks down from the central part of the State, 
starting with Congressman Tom Feeney. Congressman, I'm proud you're 
coming. Thanks for being here. Congressman Adam Putnam--last time I was 
with Adam was in the middle of an orange grove after one of the other 
hurricanes hit. As you can see, that orange grove did something to the 
color of his hair. [Laughter]
    And finally, we're here with Congressman Ric Keller. Appreciate you 
coming, Congressman. You don't know this, but you're about to find out 
that he is marrying Dee Dee Michel tomorrow. Congratulations, and good 
luck on the wedding. I'm a little surprised you're here with us. 
[Laughter] But we won't tell Dee Dee. We'll tell her you're planning for 
the wedding.
    I want to thank--oh, Congressman Dave Weldon is with us. Dave thanks 
for coming, a great man, Dr. Dave Weldon. Appreciate you coming, Dave.
    I am proud to be here with the Pensacola mayor, John Fogg. Mr. 
Mayor, thank you, sir; all the State and local officials--I'm working my 
way through a list here.
    There's one other fellow I wanted to introduce you to. His name is 
Bob Woodard. Bob, stand up for a minute, please. You don't know, Bob--
some of you don't--but he was at the base of Air Force One when I 
landed, because every time I come to a community, I like to herald a 
soldier in the army of compassion, a volunteer, somebody who has taken 
time out of his or her life to make somebody else's life better. He is 
doing something which I think is an important contribution to the future 
of our country. He is a mentor. He is one of those souls who says--puts 
his arm around somebody who hurts, somebody who needs love, somebody who 
needs comfort and says, ``I love you,'' and ``What can I do to help 
you?'' I want to thank you for your contribution to the country.

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    I want to remind you, if you want to serve America, feed the hungry, 
find shelter for the homeless, find somebody whose heart is broken and 
help heal it with the love that God has given you. Thank you for what 
you do.
    Before we get to Social Security, I want to say a couple of other 
points. I want to thank the members of the United States military and 
those who support the military for not only making this country more 
secure in the short term but helping make this country secure for 
generations to come. You see, the more free the world becomes, the more 
peaceful the world becomes for our children and our grandchildren. And 
we took some tough decisions in order to protect this country. And by 
doing so, we have laid the foundation for freedom.
    You know, I hope it heartens those who have served and the families 
of those who have served to have seen the millions of people vote in 
Afghanistan. Think about what has happened--think about what's happened 
in that society in a brief period of time. Young girls couldn't go to 
school under the Taliban because these people were so backward and so 
barbaric that their view of the--vision of the world was dim and dark. 
We acted in our own self-interest, admittedly. We said, ``If you harbor 
a terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist.'' When the 
President says something, he better mean it. I meant it. Our military 
responded. The Taliban is out, but as importantly, the people of 
Afghanistan are free.
    I just talked to Condoleezza Rice on the phone. She just came back 
from a--she was in Afghanistan, I think, yesterday. She said, ``You're 
not going to believe it, Mr. President. You're not going to believe how 
hopeful this free society is. You're not going to believe the optimism 
that these people have, all because they're free.'' A free Afghanistan 
is in the interest of the United States of America.
    A free Lebanon is in the interest of the United States of America. 
It's a good sign when millions feel comfortable going to the street 
without Government reprisal to express their opinion. In order for there 
to be a free Lebanon, Syria must remove all the troops and all the 
intelligence services in order to let these people vote in free 
society--in freedom, without fear.
    I believe there will be a Palestinian state based upon democratic 
institutions, and I know it's in Israel's interest and in the 
Palestinians' interest for there to be two states, two democracies, 
living side by side in peace.
    And then, of course, one of the most amazing events--at least as far 
as I was concerned, from my perspective--is when over 8 million Iraqis, 
in complete defiance of people who were trying to prevent them from 
going to the polls by creating incredible fear--they said, ``You're not 
going to stop us. We long to be free.'' And they went to the polls 
sending a clear signal, not only the terrorists in Iraq but to freedom-
lovers around the world, that freedom is a powerful force, and when 
unleashed, it will continue its march.
    Over the next 4 years, this administration will work to free 
people--will work with our friends and allies to promote freedom, 
because I understand free societies will be peaceful societies, and the 
more free the world is, the more peaceful the world will become. And 
people will look back at this moment of history and say, this 
generation, those of us given the honor of service will have done our 
duty to spread freedom and peace around the world. Freedom is on the 
march, and I want to thank the military folks and their families for 
helping make it happen.
    Our economy is recovering; it's doing well. I'm proud of the fact 
that the great State of Florida has got a 4.3 percent unemployment rate. 
It says something about your Governor. No, he's right--he just waved me 
off, kind of like trying to hit a carrier. [Laughter] He's right. Not 
because of him, not because of me, because of the entrepreneurs of 
Florida, people who are willing to take risk, be wise about spending 
capital, and employing people.
    No, the economy is fine. There are some dark clouds on the horizon 
that we've got to address. We got too many lawsuits. I want to thank 
Congress for getting a class-action bill to my suit--my desk. We need to 
get medical liability reform done in the United States Congress in order 
to keep good doctors practicing medicine.

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    There's a lot of things we can do and will do. I'm looking forward 
to getting a final budget to my desk that's wise about how we spend your 
money, that's also wise about making sure you got money in your pocket. 
And you're going to need it because, unfortunately, energy prices are 
going up. And I know you're concerned about it, and I'm concerned about 
it too. I was concerned about it in 2001, when we put together a 
strategy, an energy strategy, part of which required action by the 
United States Congress that would encourage conservation, encourage the 
use of renewable sources of energy like ethanol and biodiesel, that 
encouraged research and development to figure out better ways to use 
energy in the long run--because one of these days, we're going to have 
to change the nature of the automobile by driving hydrogen-powered 
automobiles, to become less dependent on sources of energy. In other 
words, there's a lot of things we need to be doing now.
    I know we need to be building LNG, liquified natural gas, terminals. 
We need to do more on nuclear power. Congress needs to get an energy 
bill. We've been debating whether or not there ought to be an energy 
bill to my desk now for 4 years. And that's too much talk, given the 
fact that consumers are beginning to hurt, too much talk given the fact 
that the--we're too dependent on foreign sources of energy. I'm 
concerned about the energy, and Congress needs to be concerned. These 
Members are concerned. I talked to them on Air Force One about it. I can 
be a plainspoken fellow if I need to be. [Laughter] And they're good 
listeners. They're ready to go. But Congress needs to get a bill to my 
desk so we can start becoming less dependent on foreign sources of 
energy.
    Let me talk about Social Security. Jeb is right. We don't need to 
talk about it. Some people say, ``You shouldn't have talked about it.'' 
I think the job of a President is to confront problems and not pass them 
on to future Presidents. And I'm pleased to report Members from the 
United States Congress that are traveling with me agree that Congress 
needs to confront problems and not pass them on to future Congresses.
    And we got a problem in Social Security. Let me first tell you, 
Franklin Roosevelt did a good thing by setting up a safety net for 
seniors. And I applaud him for that. And a lot of seniors who are now 
getting their checks understand why I'm applauding him, because the 
Social Security check you receive is really important for you. And--but 
things have changed since Franklin Roosevelt was the President.
    Before I tell you what's changed, I'm going to say this once--I may 
say it 5 times before this is over: If you're getting a check, nothing 
is going to change. I don't care what the propaganda says. I don't care 
about the political rhetoric. You're going to get your check. For those 
of you born prior to 1950, you're going to get your check. The 
Government--nothing will change in the system. We're here to talk about 
not you--we're here to talk about your children and your grandchildren. 
That's who we're here to talk about.
    And I'll tell you why we've got a problem. First of all, Social 
Security is a pay-as-you-go system; money comes in, and it goes out. 
Now, some of you might think that Social Security is a trust. In other 
words, the Government takes your Government and holds it for you, and 
then when it comes time to retire, you get your money back. That's not 
the way it works. The Government takes your payroll taxes and pays out 
to the people who have now retired, and if they got any money left over, 
it goes to pay other parts of Government. And all that's left is an IOU 
from one part of Government to the next. In other words, it's pay-as-
you-go.
    And that system works well when you got a bunch of workers paying in 
for a few beneficiaries. That's the way it was when Franklin Roosevelt 
designed the system. In 1950, there were 16 workers paying into the 
system for every beneficiary. So obviously, the load per worker is 
pretty light. What's changed is there is a bulge of people fixing to 
retire called the baby boomers. Both of us are----
    Gov. Jeb Bush. Both of us, yes, sir.
    The President. Yes. [Laughter] We are baby boomers. I happen to be 
turning eligible at--obviously, at age 62 in 2008. It's quite 
convenient. [Laughter] Did you plan it that way? Well, thank you. And 
there's a lot of us. There is a bulge in the population. And not only 
there's a lot of us, we're living longer than during the time when 
Social Security

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was first fixed. And we're living longer than the generation preceding 
us. So you got a lot of people getting ready to retire who will be 
living longer, and not only that, we've been promised more benefits than 
the previous generation. People have run for office saying, ``Vote for 
me; I'm going to make sure the benefits increase.'' And so you've got a 
lot of people living longer, getting greater benefits, and yet, we're 
not having as many children in this society. In other words, you got 
fewer people paying into the system. The math doesn't work.
    It works for those who've retired. Second time I've said it--if 
you're getting your check, you have nothing to worry about it. It 
doesn't work for people who are going to have to pay for the baby 
boomers like me who will be living longer, getting more money. And so 
the fundamental question is: If you see that problem, what are you going 
to do about it? And so the first thing I want to tell you is, we have 
got a problem.
    And the extent of the problem can be seen on this chart. In 2018, 
there's more money going out than coming in. Right now, because the baby 
boomers haven't started retiring--who will be living longer, receiving 
more money--there's more money coming in than going out, which is being 
spent. Pretty soon, there's going to be more money coming out than going 
in. In the year 2027, there will be $200 billion beyond the payroll 
taxes necessary to pay for the promises the Government has made. It 
increases every year, see. In 2018, it starts going negative--increases, 
increases, increases--to give you an extent by how much--by 2027, it's 
200 billion, greater than 200 billion the next year, greater than the 
next--you know.
    And so it starts to accumulate, which says to me that we have a 
problem that we need to address now. Because if you wait later, a 
younger worker is either going to have pay massive payroll taxes in 
order to make sure the Government pays the benefits; they're going to 
have to cut my benefits; they're going to have do--borrow a ton of 
money. In other words, now is the time to act. We do--have no problem 
for those of you who are receiving your check. We have a problem for 
your children and your grandchildren. And the problem is right there in 
the cash deficits in a pay-as-you-go system.
    And so I've taken it on. I think this is my 16th State. I'm 
traveling all around the country, which I like to do--it's a convenient 
excuse to get out of the Nation's Capital--[laughter]--and I'm 
explaining to people: You're going to get your check, and we've got a 
problem.
    And I think there's some logic to the strategy, because, listen to 
this: If you're a Member of Congress, and all of a sudden the 
constituents start to say, ``We've got a problem, Mr. Congressman or 
Madam Congressman.'' The next thing they're going to say is, ``What you 
going to do about it?'' And once we can convince the seniors they have 
nothing to worry about, which they don't, the fundamental question for 
them becomes--from a lot of younger Americans, ``I'm glad you're taking 
care of my grandparents or my dad or my mom, but what are you going to 
do for me?'' And that's the dynamic that's going to get people coming to 
the table.
    In order to help them come to the table, in my State of the Union 
Address, I said, ``I really want people to bring ideas forward. Please 
bring your ideas forward. There will be no political retribution if you 
bring good ideas forward,'' because I understand this is going to 
require Republicans and Democrats coming to the table--precisely what 
the American people want, by the way. They want people to fix it, not to 
play politics with it.
    So all options are on the table. The other day, I was with a former 
Democrat Congressman named Tim Penny--Tim Penny, who had some 
interesting ideas. My predecessor, President Clinton, recognized we had 
a problem; he put some ideas on the table. And so I'm looking forward to 
people from both parties coming up and saying, ``Mr. President, here are 
some of my ideas.'' And my answer will be, ``Welcome. Thanks for 
bringing them forward. Let's just see if we can't work together to get 
something done.''
    I've got some ideas, and I want to share one of them with you, which 
I think--I hope you find interesting. And first of all, by the way, as 
Congress brings ideas, I'm not interested in a temporary fix, and 
neither should you be. I want you to remember 1983. There

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was a--President Ronald Reagan and Leader Dole and Speaker Tip O'Neill 
realized we had a problem, got Republicans and Democrats together, and 
came together and said, ``We'll put together a temporary fix.'' This is 
the so-called 75-year option. And I like the spirit of people coming 
together. I like the idea of people saying, ``We've got a problem. Why 
don't we fix it in a bipartisan way?'' The only problem is, the 75-year 
option wasn't exactly right, because today is a lot less than 75 years 
from 1983. And so when you hear the--``Don't worry. We'll just fix it 
for 75 years,'' the way the demographics are, the math just won't let 
that happen. So now is the time to have a permanent solution.
    And as they do the permanent solution, we also have got to work, in 
my judgment, to make sure individual workers get a better deal from 
Social Security. And the better deal would be allow--in my judgment, 
again--to allow younger workers to take part of their own money. See, 
when you hear ``payroll taxes,'' that kind of sounds like it's the 
Government's money. It's not; it's your money. And I want you to know I 
understand that--that you ought to take some of your own money and be 
able to save it in bonds and stocks.
    And the reason why I think you ought to be able to do that is 
because a mix of conservative bonds and stocks will get you a better 
rate of return on your money than that which you're going to get inside 
the Government. And that's important, because if you're a young worker, 
interest compounds--or if you're an old worker--interest compounds. But 
the longer you hold money, compounding, the more you'll end up with. It 
grows. And the greater rate of return you get on your money, the more 
you'll have when it comes time to retire.
    So the idea is, as a part of a Social Security system, allow you to 
take some of your money so you can build a nest egg of your own. I like 
the idea of people building nest eggs. I think if you own something, 
you're likely to have a more vital stake in the future of the country. 
One of the most heartening statistics, I think, in today's world is more 
and more people are owning their own home. More minority families own a 
home today than ever before. That's heartening, I think. I tell people, 
I love the idea of somebody opening up the door to their house and say, 
``Welcome to my home. Thank you for coming to my piece of property.''
    I think the fact that more and more people are owning their own 
small business is helpful. I know it's going to be helpful to have more 
people owning a piece of their own retirement account and managing it.
    Now, a couple of things about personal accounts. One, I've told you 
about the compounding rate of return. Just to give you an example: If a 
person were allowed to take 4 percent of their payroll taxes, or a third 
of the payroll taxes, and set it aside in a personal account, starting 
at age 21, and that person earned $35,000 over her--his or her lifetime, 
that by the time she can retire, that money set aside would be worth 
$250,000, as a nest egg. In other words, that's compounding rate of 
interest will do that. Obviously, if you make 70,000 over your lifetime, 
it's double that. Then you have a half-a-million dollars that you can 
call your own.
    So what can you do with that? Well, first, I know some people get 
nervous about investments. We're going to talk about investments here. 
You can't take your money and put it in the lottery, let me put it to 
you that way. In other words, a personal account doesn't give you 
latitude to--you know, you still got jai alai here? Yes. Okay, you can't 
go to a jai alai deal. [Laughter] You've got to invest it in a 
conservative mix of bonds and stocks, just like Federal employees do 
now.
    Any Federal employees understand what I'm talking about, the Thrift 
Savings Plan? It works. We're going to talk to somebody who's got a 
piece of the Thrift Savings Plan. This is happening. This isn't--I 
didn't sit here and invent this. This is taking place already at the 
Federal level. People who work for the Federal Government get to take 
some of their own money and set it aside in a conservative mix of bonds 
and stocks because the Government realizes you get a better rate of 
return on your money. If it's good enough for Federal employees, it 
seems like to me it ought to be good enough for people who are working, 
you know, who aren't working for the Federal Government. [Laughter] That 
was not a cheap shot at people like me

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working at the Federal Government. [Laughter]
    Secondly, you'll get the check from the Federal Government in the 
Social Security system if you're a younger worker. I just can't 
guarantee how big it's going to be. You know, there's not enough money 
to pay the promises, I'll just tell you that. I think that's part of the 
dialog is to make sure everybody understands. It's not a trust, and 
we're not going to be able to keep the promises unless we're willing to 
have extraordinarily high taxes on the people coming up, or significant 
benefit cuts.
    And so one way to help you do a better job of coming closer to what 
the Government has promised is to allow you to earn this money and then 
use it as a part of a retirement plan. In other words, the Government is 
going to get you a check, and then you're also going to be able to take 
money out of your own personal account to help you when you retire. 
That's important for you to know.
    The system is not fair for people, oftentimes. Somebody dies early, 
been working 30 years, dies at 55 years old; money goes in the system. 
The spouse doesn't get a dime until he or she turns 62. That doesn't 
seem fair to me. Does it to you? In a personal account, if you had one 
of those and your assets were growing and you passed away, you could 
leave it to whomever you want. There would be some comfort for the 
spouse. Two people working, a husband and a spouse; husband predeceases 
the spouse; she continues to work. She's either going to get, at 62 
years old, her own Social Security check or survivor benefits, which is 
ever larger, but not both. That doesn't seem fair, does it? Somebody is 
working all their life; the money they put inside Social Security is not 
available for somebody he or she loves. If you have your personal 
account, it grows. You die, your wife or your husband is going to get 
your personal account--or your children.
    I like the idea of encouraging savings. For those of you who studied 
macroeconomics--it's a fancy word for how to make sure the economy 
grows--the more you save, the more capital there is; the more capital 
there is, the more money is available for small business expansion, so 
people can work.
    So we need to encourage savings. I like the idea. I'm telling you, I 
like the idea. I'm going to talk a lot about it. I'm going to talk to 
others about the idea too. It needs to be a part of the dialog. And it's 
interesting, you know, we're not talking about a big cultural shift 
here. When I was coming up, I don't remember my mother telling me to be 
careful about my 401(k) plan. They didn't exist, I don't think. There 
wasn't a lot of focus on encouraging people to manage their own money. 
Today, that has changed. There's a lot of young Americans, Americans 
from all walks of life, Americans from all income levels, Americans from 
all neighborhoods who understand what it means to have a 401(k), an IRA, 
a defined contribution plan. And they like it, and they're used to it, 
and they're comfortable with it.
    And so I want Congress to consider making this same kind of culture 
available for workers through the Social Security system, to strengthen 
the system, to say to younger workers, ``It's a better deal for you,'' 
to be able to assure grandparents that when it comes to their 
grandchildren, the safety net that was available for them will be 
available for the new generation coming up.
    And so now I'm going to talk with some other people about it, 
starting with my mother. I promised not to tell you her age, but she's 
eligible for Social Security. [Laughter]
    Barbara Bush. How old are you? [Laughter]
    The President. Fifty-eight. How about that?
    Mrs. Bush. Add 22 years. [Laughter]
    The President. Yes.
    Mrs. Bush. You're supposed to ask me why I'm here.
    The President. Okay. First of all, I now know why I'm getting white 
hair. [Laughter]
    Mrs. Bush. I'm here because when else can I see my two oldest boys? 
[Laughter]
    The President. How about a little better answer than that, will you?
    Mrs. Bush. That's reason number one.
    The President. Now, wait, it's not, how can I see my two better 
boys, it's how can I tell my two better boys in person what to do, is 
what you're really trying to say. [Laughter]

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    Mrs. Bush. Right, right. If you would listen, I'd tell you more. 
[Laughter] But that's really not why I'm here. I'm here because your 
father and I have 17 grandchildren, all born after--we're doing our 
part, incidentally, on the labor--[laughter]--but all born after 1950. 
And we want to know, is someone going to do something about it. That's 
the whole reason--other than seeing my boys.
    The President. Well, I'm glad you're here, Mom. And yes, I hope you 
can tell--I think you will be able to tell--and I think others like Mom, 
who are worried about whether or not Government even cares about taking 
on a tough enough issue to address the issue for grandchildren, whether 
or not there's a will. You'll see. I think you'll see by the time this 
is over that there is an interest and a desire, a willingness to take on 
a tough issue, just like you taught me, not to shirk my duty but to step 
up and lead and to do--do the hard work.
    And it is. Listen, I concede, Mom, that Members of Congress, some 
would rather not be talking about it. But we're going to talk about it, 
and I'm going to assure you--I've got your stubbornness--that I'm going 
to--in a good way--I'm going to keep talking about it until something 
gets done. I'm going to keep traveling the country saying to people, 
``We've got a problem. If you're a senior, you're going to get your 
check,'' and I'm willing to work with Congress. And I'm going to tell 
you, I--the people of this country are tired of partisan bickering on 
big issues. They don't want people--they just want the problem solved.
    We've got Lee Abdnor with us. She is--she's from Boulder, Colorado. 
Is that true still?
    Leanne Abdnor. Yes, sir.
    The President. Listen, I want you to know, I formed a committee in 
2001 of Republicans and Democrats to look at Social Security. And 
Patrick Moynihan, a former Senator from New York, headed it. Isn't that 
right?
    Ms. Abdnor. That's right.
    The President. And Lee's on it. Okay, let her go. She studied this.

[At this point, Ms. Abdnor, president, For Our Grandchildren, Boulder, 
CO, made brief remarks.]

    The President. Thanks for coming, Lee. Thanks for serving. It was--
--
    Ms. Abdnor. My pleasure.
    The President. Let me ask you. I think it's important for you to 
understand that those who served on the committee were good thinkers, 
all walks of life, and represented both political parties, and they came 
together with some ideas. I think there was a couple of ideas that I 
think are very interesting. We've sent them up to Congress, of course. 
One of the interesting points that came out of there--and it's very 
important for people to understand--is that you can design a system to 
make sure that low-income Americans--that the system is progressive, 
which is a good idea. Pozen is the man that you served with, I think.
    Ms. Abdnor. Yes, he was one of the ones.
    The President. He floated a really interesting idea that I hope 
Congress takes a look at, which is to make sure that the lower-income 
Americans are treated in a way so that--that when people retire they're 
as taken care of as well as can be, that the safety net is truly a 
safety net. It makes sense. And so you can structure a system so that 
we're--make sure that we're taking care of the low-income people better.
    And my only point is Lee's committee had a lot of really good ideas 
out there. I like the spirit of how they met. They didn't show up and 
say, ``I'm not going to listen to your idea.'' They showed up and said, 
``Bring your ideas forward.'' And as I said, Senator Daniel Patrick 
Moynihan, who was a fine, fine United States Senator from New York, a 
Democrat, was able to coax good ideas out. So thanks for the spirit.
    Ms. Abdnor. Exactly, and Mr. President, I think one of the things 
that was most gratifying was that even in private, we never talked about 
politics, not once in all of those months. All we talked about was 
policy, what's the best way to go forward, how would certain people be 
helped, how would certain people be harmed by different ideas or by 
doing nothing.
    The President. Well, I appreciate you.
    Andrew Brown is with us.
    Andrew Brown. Yes, sir.
    The President. Where you from, Andrew?

[[Page 466]]

    Mr. Brown. I'm from Bay, Arkansas. It's a small town, about 2,000 
people, in northeast Arkansas.
    The President. That's 3 times more than Crawford. [Laughter]
    Mr. Brown. Yes, sir.
    The President. Good. Did you--are you educated?
    Mr. Brown. Well, I graduated from the Naval Academy last year, sir. 
[Applause]
    The President. Awesome, yes. [Applause] Figured that would get a 
nice round of applause here in Pensacola.
    Mr. Brown. Yes, sir, and I came down here last summer to begin 
flight school at Pensacola.
    The President. Good, yes. How is it going?
    Mr. Brown. It's going really well.
    The President. No crashes?
    Mr. Brown. No crashes, yet. [Laughter]
    The President. That's good. It sounds positive. [Laughter]
    Mr. Brown. Yes, sir. And I'm just really enjoying that and looking 
forward to getting my wings in a couple of months and getting out and 
doing it for real.
    The President. Congratulations. Thanks for serving. Other than 
making sure the Commander in Chief knows you're about to get your wings, 
why are you here? [Laughter]
    Mr. Brown. Yes, sir. Social Security kind of concerns me a little 
bit. I don't really foresee that it will be around for my generation.
    The President. Let me stop you. This is not the first time I have 
heard this, ``I don't think it's going to be around for my generation.'' 
Congress needs to hear this. Go ahead.
    Mr. Brown. So I invest my money mostly in a Roth IRA. I think that's 
a great way to invest money. And I applaud Congress for upping the 
limits there, letting people do more with their money. And I also invest 
in the Thrift Savings Plan.
    The President. Explain to people what that means, invest in a Thrift 
Savings Plan. I think some out there listening may not be sure what the 
Thrift Savings Plan is. It sounds sophisticated. It sounds unmanageable.

[Mr. Brown made further remarks.]

    The President. Who decides where the money goes?
    Mr. Brown. I decide where the money goes. The percentile breakdown, 
I decide.
    The President. The people who are running the Thrift Savings say, 
``Here's five different options for you,'' kind of a different mix and 
risk and return, I guess.
    Mr. Brown. Yes, sir, ranging from international----
    The President. Which one of them is not the lottery, I want you to 
know. [Laughter]
    Mr. Brown. Yes, sir. And so I've enjoyed being able to put more 
money aside and grow tax-free through the Thrift Savings program that 
wouldn't be covered under the Roth.
    The President. And how often do you get a statement?
    Mr. Brown. I check all mine online, sir.
    The President. Oh, you do? [Laughter] Don't worry about making the 
Commander in Chief look technologically incompetent. [Laughter] Private. 
Anyway--[laughter].
    Think about this. I just want you to listen to what he said, he 
checks about it online. He watches his money grow. Some people get 
monthly statements. They watch their money. There's nothing better in a 
society than to have people concerned about their assets. That's what 
ownership does. It's yours. Nobody can take it away.
    The other thing is, is that when you hold money over a long period 
of time, there is a predictable rate of return depending upon the risks 
you take. And there's ways to design programs so that the closer you get 
to retirement, if the markets were to happen to go down, you're able to 
get your money, see? That's what's important for people to understand. 
And obviously, you feel comfortable doing it.
    Mr. Brown. Yes, sir, I'm very pleased with the Thrift Savings Plan.
    The President. Good. See, he's a Navy pilot, risktaker, and manages 
his own money. [Laughter] Thanks for coming, Andrew. I appreciate your 
concern.
    Mr. Brown. Thank you, sir. It's an honor.
    The President. Thanks for serving. By the way, somebody one time 
told me they saw a survey that said people like Andrew, people Andrew's 
age think it's a lot more likely they'll see a UFO than to get a Social 
Security check. [Laughter] May be right.
    With us is Dr. Ron Guy, age 58 years old.

[[Page 467]]

    Dr. Ron Guy. Yes, sir, same age.
    The President. Welcome.
    Dr. Guy. Thank you, sir.
    The President. Leading edge of the baby boomers.
    Dr. Guy. Yes, sir.
    The President. What do you do?
    Dr. Guy. Presently, sir, I do financial strategies, working with a 
great group of partners at Guernsey and Associates. There are 15 of us 
that help people plan their life, from wherever they are to age 100. And 
we look very closely, sir, at Social Security.
    The President. What happens if they're 101? You can help them on 
that too.
    Dr. Guy. Okay, we can do that, too, sir.
    The President. Okay, good. So give me--this is his field, right? You 
understand pay-as-you-go; you understand all the terms we're using; you 
understand Thrift Savings Plans, internal rate of returns--let her go.

[Dr. Guy made further remarks.]

    The President. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you. Let me--one of the 
interesting things about investing--when you think of investors, you 
think of a certain kind of person, and I don't view that--I'm sure you 
don't either. You work with people from all walks of life. I mean, 
everybody has got a chance to be an--should have a chance to be an 
investor. Investing is not limited to a certain class of person. That 
doesn't make any sense. And yet, I think that's the attitude of some, 
you know, ``We can't let certain people, maybe, invest their own money. 
Maybe they don't know how to do it.''
    I'm kind of leading you on here, but give me a sense for how hard it 
is for people to figure out how to invest their money in a prescribed 
set of bonds and stocks.

[Dr. Guy made further remarks.]

    The President. Well, good. See, financial literacy. By the way, one 
of the interesting things we've done is we've encouraged the faith-based 
community to take on the idea of educating people in financial literacy, 
so that we can make sure financial literacy is able to permeate all 
neighborhoods in our society. People will be comfortable with this. This 
is something that is happening, by the way, already without Government, 
of course. Defined contribution plans exist throughout all society right 
now, Thrift Savings accounts, IRAs, 401(k)s.
    The reason I keep emphasizing that is when I talk about a savings 
plan for individuals, it's happening. And the question is, do we have 
the wisdom to extend this kind of savings plan to the Social Security 
system to allow younger workers--this isn't going to--you don't have to 
worry about me and--we just don't have to worry about it. The system is 
fixed if you're born before 1950. It's not going to change one iota. The 
question is, do we listen to younger workers? Do we fit the plan in to 
meet the current culture, and do we give them a better deal? Do we try 
to make the system on an individual basis?
    I told the--[inaudible]--that these accounts do not permanently fix 
Social Security. We're going to have to do other things. They are part 
of a Social Security fix that will help the individual worker.
    Now, I'm going to talk to Myrtle Campbell. Myrtle, put that mic up 
there.
    Myrtle Campbell. Yes, Mr. President.
    The President. Thanks for coming. I came all the way to wish you a 
happy birthday for your birthday next Sunday--isn't that right?
    Mrs. Campbell. Yes. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Myrtle Campbell is here, and she brought somebody 
with her. Who did you bring with you?
    Mrs. Campbell. I brought my granddaughter, Mary Beth Roberts.
    The President. Very good. We'll start with you, if that's all right.
    Mrs. Campbell. With me?
    The President. Yes. Do you receive a Social Security check?
    Mrs. Campbell. Yes. And for 82 years, that amounts to a lot of 
checks, you know. And it has come in real handy, and I would hate to 
part with it. [Laughter]
    The President. Yes, you count on it.
    Mrs. Campbell. Yes.
    The President. I want you to know, Myrtle, I understand a lot of 
people count on their Social Security check. I mean, it's a really 
important part of a lot of people's lives. Some people count only on 
their Social Security check, and therefore, one of the issues in talking 
about this is to make sure we don't

[[Page 468]]

frighten you. Seriously--we don't want people to feel like the 
Government is fixing to make sure that the check she counts on is 
diminished or goes away. And I understand. I fully understand that. And 
that's why I'm spending a lot of time talking about it, because I 
understand that sometimes there's another message getting out there.
    I can remember in 2000, they said, ``If old George W. gets elected, 
he's going to take away your check.'' I got elected, so in the 2004 
campaign it didn't quite work because people did get their checks.
    Keep going. Are you worried about it?
    Mrs. Campbell. I'm not worried about it, no. I am concerned, 
however, for my grandchildren and what's coming up for them and how 
their livelihood will be, what's due for them.
    The President. How many have you got, how many grandchildren?
    Mrs. Campbell. I have nine grandchildren, and I have a whole slew of 
students throughout the United States that I'm concerned about as well.
    The President. You're a teacher?
    Mrs. Campbell. I'm a Bible teacher.
    The President. Great, thanks.
    Mrs. Campbell. I'm a volunteer.
    The President. Volunteer, very good. That's fantastic.
    Mrs. Campbell. I was concerned with children, like your mother. 
[Laughter]
    The President. Yes.

[Mrs. Campbell made further remarks.]

    The President. Well, I appreciate you. Thank you for sharing that 
with us, Myrtle. And I want you to introduce your granddaughter to us.
    Mrs. Campbell. Well, this is Mary Beth Roberts. She's the daughter--
one of the daughters of my daughter.
    The President. One of the daughters of your daughter.
    Mrs. Campbell. Wanda Roberts.
    The President. That's good. Three daughters?
    Mrs. Campbell. Three.
    Mary Beth Roberts. They're over there.
    Mrs. Campbell. She has five.
    The President. You got all the sisters here?
    Ms. Roberts. Yes.
    The President. Fantastic. Oh yes, I see them over there.
    Ms. Roberts. My little brother right there, too.
    The President. Brother? Fine-looking lad. [Laughter] Boyfriend?
    Ms. Roberts. Right next to him.
    The President. Yes, got it. [Laughter] I picked him out. Didn't mean 
to embarrass you.
    Ms. Roberts. It's okay.
    The President. Although, Mary Beth, before we came on, said, ``Make 
sure you introduce my boyfriend.'' [Laughter] Just kidding.
    Ms. Roberts. That's all right.
    The President. So what do you do?
    Ms. Roberts. I am currently a college student at the University of 
West Florida, majoring in public relations.
    The President. Fantastic. Good. Good. How's it going?
    Ms. Roberts. I'm sorry?
    The President. How's it going?
    Ms. Roberts. It's going wonderful. I'm having a great time.
    The President. Actually, you took some classes here, right?
    Ms. Roberts. I did. I attended Pensacola Junior College and got my 
general education here.
    The President. Good. Good job.
    Ms. Roberts. Love it, too.
    The President. Major?
    Ms. Roberts. Public relations and advertising.
    The President. Here's your chance. [Laughter]
    Ms. Roberts. Appreciate that.
    The President. Yes, no problem. [Laughter] So your grandmother says 
she's worried about her grandchildren--a safety net for her 
grandchildren when they retire. Do you share that same concern?
    Ms. Roberts. I am extremely concerned. I'm pretty young. I'm 21, and 
I have a feeling that----
    The President. Pretty young? [Laughter]
    Ms. Roberts. I'm a baby.
    The President. You're really young. Younger and younger every year. 
[Laughter] Go ahead.

[[Page 469]]

    Ms. Roberts. So by the time that I am a senior citizen, I'm sure 
Social Security will have been long gone, so I'm very concerned.
    The President. Yes, it's important for 21-year-old people to pay 
attention to this issue. If it doesn't get fixed, the bill is going to 
be huge. That's what you've got to understand if you're 21 years old. 
You know, they always say, 21-year-olders don't pay attention to 
politics or issues. I don't know if that's the case.
    Ms. Roberts. I pay attention, Mr. President.
    The President. That's good. [Laughter] Give me a chance--and by the 
way, personal accounts are voluntary. In other words, I'm not going to 
say--the Government isn't going to say, ``You have to do this.'' I 
believe in saying to somebody, ``If you choose to do this, you can do 
it. You don't have to do it.'' If given that opportunity--I'm maybe a 
little premature, but if things go right, you may be given that 
opportunity pretty quickly.
    Ms. Roberts. I hope so.
    The President. So what would you--do you have any sense for whether 
or not you would opt to decide to take some of your money aside and put 
it aside in an account?
    Ms. Roberts. I would definitely take that option.
    The President. Really? It doesn't frighten you?
    Ms. Roberts. Not at all. It actually would be encouraging to know 
that I will definitely get that when I do retire so I have something to 
count on.
    The President. Yes. A nest egg.
    Ms. Roberts. That's right.
    The President. The other thing I think is important is to be able to 
pass--for Mary Beth to be able to pass her money on to whomever she 
chooses. I think that would be beneficial for society to have more 
assets accumulate and to be able to have kind of a generational transfer 
of assets. I think it would be beneficial for people from all walks of 
life. I really do. I think it's a concept that's an important concept, 
the idea of passing property on to whomever you choose, the idea of 
accumulating property.
    If she starts, by the way, she's going to do quite well. It sounds 
like she's going to make quite a good living and set aside money and put 
it away, conservative bonds and stocks. And it grows. It compounds.
    I want to repeat another point. The money she'll get in her account, 
the return--rate of return on a conservative mix of bonds and stocks 
will be greater than her money will be earning in the Federal 
Government. And that's an important difference, particularly for a 21-
year-old investor, over a period of 41 years. That money grows.
    And so I'm glad you're interested.
    Ms. Roberts. Yes, sir.
    The President. My--then my advice to you, everybody else, people 
watching, is write your Senators and write your Congresspeople. Let them 
know you're concerned. Let them know you're interested in people coming 
together to solve this problem to save Social Security for generations 
to come.
    Thanks for coming. Thanks for your interest. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 9:01 a.m. at Pensacola Junior College. In 
his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Gerald McKenzie, 
member, board of trustees, and David Sam, vice president of academic 
affairs, Pensacola Junior College; Mayor John R. Fogg of Pensacola, FL; 
former Representative Timothy J. Penny, senior fellow and co-director, 
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute Policy Forum; former Senator Bob Dole; and 
Robert C. Pozen, chairman, MFS Investment Management. The Office of the 
Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
discussion.