Billmon: The Straight Shooter

President George W. Bush on Thursday acknowledged that Social Security could be shored up without private accounts in another sign of flexibility about his plan that faces stiff opposition in Congress. "You can solve the solvency issue without personal accounts," Bush said in an interview with the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

Reuters
Bush signals flexibility on private accounts
June 2, 2005

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"I feel strongly that there needs to be voluntary personal savings accounts as a part of the Social Security system. I mean, it's got to be a part of a comprehensive package."

George W. Bush
Press Conference
April 28, 2005

You could argue that Bush's about face (actually I'd call it another move in his fan dance) raises some potentially serious political risks for the Democrats because it might actually force them to negotiate over issues like cutting benefits, raising taxes and lifting the retirement age.

Personally, I've come around to the idea that any Social Security fix based on accumulating surpluses now to balance shortfalls decades down the road is strictly a sucker's game, since the neo-Peronist wing of the GOP will only use the money to "pay" for more tax cuts and spending boondoggles -- albeit for billionaires, not the shirtless ones.