Blogger Mary Explains it All--Visit to the White House
DCP Blogger attends White House meeting on Social Security. John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO (not the Congressman from New York) also shares his perspective.
I was part of a delegation that attended a meeting at the White House Monday morning to discuss Social Security with several Bush Administration officials. After our morning session at the White House, we attended further meetings in the DC area where we met with John Sweeney from the AFL-CIO and also listened to a panel discussion on Social Security reform.
Our morning session at the White House began with the United States Treasurer, Anna Escobedo Cabral. She spoke about the Bush Social Security plan and the reasons why the Administration had to act on Social Security now and not later. Ms. Escobedo Cabral touched on the following points: Cash flow into the system will start to go negative in 2017 and the Trust Fund will be depleted by 2041. She highlighted several contributing factors, such as longer life expectancy, fewer people in the workforce supporting those who are retiring now, and lower birth rates. Ms. Escobeo Cabral said it costs the US Government $650 million for every year that we delay taking action on Social Security and she strongly supports the Administration's plan to implement Voluntary Personal Retirement Accounts to help solve the problem. She recommended that we go to the Government website: www.Strengtheningsocialsecurity.gov for detailed information.
We asked how the Government plans to encourage the public to actually open up a private account? How will we educate the public on financial literacy when so many people across the country do not understand the stock market? We also wanted to know who was going to manage the money and how will it be designed? Ms. Escobedo Cabral explained that the Government would work with the media and the White House public affairs team to educate the public about the importance of opening a private account. Details about the management of the accounts are being looked at now.
I asked the Treasurer about the millions of outsourced American jobs and isn’t that the reason why we have fewer Americans contributing to Social Security? Ms. Cabral seemed caught off guard and a little flustered by my question. She didn’t answer my question directly and instead wrapped up her comments and thanked us for attending (our delegation picked up her evasive answer and re-asked the question later to Barry Jackson…more on that later).
http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2005/05/blogger_mary_ex.html#comments