For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 2, 2001
Remarks by the President in Social Security Announcement
The Rose Garden
Listen to the President's Remarks
10:27 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Please be
seated. Mr. Secretary, thank you for
coming. Members of the newly-formed Social Security
Commission, I want to thank you all for being here. And I
want to thank your family members who are here, as well.
Social Security is one of the greatest
achievements of the American government, and one of the deepest
commitments to the American people. For more than six
decades it has protected our elderly against poverty and assured young
people of a more secure future. It must continue to do this
important work for decades to come.
Yet, it has been apparent for many years that
Social Security, itself, is becoming insecure. Social
Security was designed for an era when few Americans lived much past the
age of 65, and when families of three or four children were more than
the exception.
When Social Security was created there was
about 40 workers paying Social Security taxes for every one retiree
receiving benefits. Today, there are three workers for every
retiree; soon, there will be two. Long life is a
blessing. Smaller families are an individual
choice. But the consequence of this blessing and this choice
is that the Social Security payroll tax, which was once 2 percent, has
now passed 12 percent.
Economists calculate that it will have to rise
past 18 percent if the baby boomers are to receive the same benefits
that Social Security has promised, unless we take steps soon to reform
the way Social Security is financed.
The threat to the stability of Social Security
has been apparent for decades. For years, political leaders
have agreed that something must be done. But nothing has
been done. We can postpone action no longer. Social
Security is a challenge now; if we fail to act, it will become a
crisis. We must save Social Security and we now have the
opportunity to do so.
Our government will run large budget surpluses
over the next 10 years. These surpluses provide an opportunity to move
to a stronger Social Security system. Two months ago, in my
address to Congress, I described the principles that must guide any
reform of Social Security. First, Social Security reform
must preserve the benefits of all current retirees and those nearing
retirement.
Second, Social Security reform must return the
Social Security system to sound financial footing. Third,
Social Security reform must offer personal savings accounts to younger
workers who want them. Today, young workers who pay into
Social Security might as well be saving their money in their
mattresses. That's how low the return is on their
contributions. And the return will only decline further -- maybe even
below zero -- if we do not proceed with reform.
Personal savings accounts will transform
Social Security from a government IOU into personal property and real
assets; property that workers will own in their own names and that they
can pass along to their children. Ownership, independence,
access to wealth should not be the privilege of a
few. They're the hope of every American, and we must make
them the foundation of Social Security.
Today, I am naming a Presidential Commission
to turn these principles into concrete reforms. This task is
not easy, but the mandate is clear: strengthen Social Security and
make its promise more certain and valuable for generations to
come. I have asked the Commission to deliver its report
later this fall.
Social Security does not belong to any one
political party, so the Commission is drawn from both
parties. Social Security does not belong to the government
or to the politicians, and so my Commission has members from many
different walks of life. It will be chaired by two
outstanding Americans: Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and
Richard Parsons, of AOL-Time Warner.
Senator Moynihan has been aptly described as
the nation's best thinker among politicians since Lincoln, and its best
politician among thinkers since Jefferson. A profound mind,
a compassionate heart and a far-seeing imagine have distinguished him
throughout his career.
Our task today is to preserve what is the best
in Social Security, while updating it, and for a new
time. And nobody will do that job better than this great
student of Social Security's history, and stalwart champion of Social
Security's principles.
As Co-Chief Operating Officer of AOL-Time
Warner, Richard Parsons is one of the leaders of this nation's
Information Age economy. Few people have served more tours
of duty in the American government and business; a senior aide in the
Ford administration; managing partner of a distinguished law firm; CEO
of a major savings bank, before becoming president of Time Warner.
Mr. Parsons serves his community as ably as
he's served his country. He chairs the Upper Manhattan Empowerment
Zone Development Corporation, where he mobilized the creativity of the
private sector to bring jobs and opportunity to people in
need. And he sits on the boards of Howard University and the
Lincoln Center.
Richard Parsons represents in our time the
spirit of business statesmanship at its highest. Fourteen
other fine Americans have joined the Moynihan-Parsons Commission; seven
of them are Republicans and seven are Democrats. They
include a former aide to Robert Kennedy and a former aide to Ronald
Reagan; political leaders, entrepreneurs, eminent experts on the Social
Security system.
Every one of these fine men and women is
passionately committed to the safety, success and long-term security of
Social Security.
I'm giving this Commission a great task and
its members have my full faith. When it makes its report,
the Congress and I will face some serious decisions, but we must be
inspired by the example of the founder of Social Security, President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
In his Fireside Chat of September 1934,
shortly before Congress enacted Social Security, he warned that there
will always be those frightened by boldness and cowed by the necessity
for making decisions. They will complain, he said, that all we have
done is unnecessary and subject to great risks.
But now, as then, bold action and serious
decisions are necessary and we in our time must rededicate ourselves to
the great ideal Roosevelt defined 67 years ago: greater
freedom and greater security for the average man than he has ever known
before in the history of America. That's our charge and we
must keep it.
And now, one of the Co-Chairmen of this
Commission, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. (Applause.)
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: I now have the honor
of signing the commission into being.
(The executive order was signed.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very
much. Thanks for coming. (Applause.)
END 10:38
A.M. EDT
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