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Newt Gingrich Talks Social Security Reform.

Earlier this month, Lance McMurray of Red State Rant and Trey Jackson of Jackson's Junction collaborated on a multi-blog interview on camera with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, soliciting questions from a variety of blogs. WILLisms.com happened to be included, which is totally awesome of Lance.

Here is my question:

What would your ideal Social Security reform plan look like, both policy-wise, as well as politically? How do you see this debate playing out over the next year or two, and how will the passage (or lack) of reform affect the 2006 Senate and House races?

Go see Newt's response.

UPDATE:

Here is the entire response:

I think that Social Security reform is a very important step forward for America. I think it's very clear to any thinking person that a system which the first year was paid Social Security checks had 42 working taxpayers for every person on Social Security, today has 3 working taxpayers for every person on Social Security; when my two grandchildren who are now 3 and 5 get to be in the workforce, there will be 2 workers for every person drawing Social Security.

You can't have a transfer payment system when you're down to a 2-to-1 number. You've gotta have a different approach to this. So I am very concerned that we recognize that younger Americans, particularly those under 40 years of age, absolutely have to have the right to have a personal Social Security savings account that will build up interest over their entire working lifetime. It would give them 3 or 4 times as much money as there gonna get from a transfer system, it would avoid intergenerational war between the young and the old, it's very important for our economy because that level of savings would lower interest rates and increase the capital available for economic growth.

And the Ryan-Sununu bill-- Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire-- is a very good bill which moves us in this direction.

As to its impact on 2006 and 2008, I think it's a very simple equation. If you focus on the right to have a personal Social Security savings account and the right of young people to have a better retirement, I think it's a big winner for Republicans.

If they allow the Democrats to focus on benefit cuts and other kind of complexities, I think it could be dangerous for Republicans. So I think the Republicans have an absolute interest in focusing on the right of young people to have a personal Social Security savings account.

Posted by Will Franklin · 22 June 2005 12:48 AM

Comments

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at June 22, 2005 08:52 PM

Posted by: Cindy T. at June 23, 2005 06:00 AM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at June 23, 2005 10:59 AM