Bush Must Continue Pushing SS Reform
John Hawkins has a post today that recommends calling it quits on Social Security reform. This comes as a complete surprise, since I know John both likes the proposed reforms and believes they are necessary. He notes that,
While I agree with all of his analysis up to this point, I disagree with his conclusion to pull the plug on reform. First, I never trust polling because polls can always be rigged based upon the wording of the questions. But most polls actually indicate an overwhelming majority of Americans (even those over 55) support personal accounts. When the wording is changed to "Bush's plan," the numbers drop. Part of that is a dislike of Bush and part is because Bush hasn't really introduced a final "plan;" only a list of options.
Even if Social Security reform never passes, it's still not a failure. By forcing Democrats into an obstructionist position when 75-80% of Americans believe SS reforms need to be made, it strengthens Republican positions elsewhere. The Senate can continue to conduct other business even while SS debate continues - Democrats simply cannot block everything without severe consequences. While Democrats block SS reform, Republicans can continue to push other priorities through (see bankruptcy reform, tort reform, tax reform, judicial nominations...).
By giving in to Democrats and not forcing them into a defensive/obstructionist position, Bush would be handing them a huge victory on a silver platter. They are then free to pick another issue to draw the line in the sand and obstruct. Even if SS reform never passes - and I'm still confident that it will at some point - it's a fight worth pursuing.
Uh oh - now I get it - I've been had... This better be an April Fool's joke...I'm not so sure it is though.
Getting Social Security reform done was ambitious and worth trying, but from Day 1, it was going to be a tough sell. Americans -- like most people -- are usually only inspired to make significant changes in policy when there's a crisis of some sort and even those of us who think something needs to be done today will admit that it's going to be more than a decade until the program starts going into the red...Furthermore, the President just isn't gaining any traction on the issue.
While I agree with all of his analysis up to this point, I disagree with his conclusion to pull the plug on reform. First, I never trust polling because polls can always be rigged based upon the wording of the questions. But most polls actually indicate an overwhelming majority of Americans (even those over 55) support personal accounts. When the wording is changed to "Bush's plan," the numbers drop. Part of that is a dislike of Bush and part is because Bush hasn't really introduced a final "plan;" only a list of options.
Even if Social Security reform never passes, it's still not a failure. By forcing Democrats into an obstructionist position when 75-80% of Americans believe SS reforms need to be made, it strengthens Republican positions elsewhere. The Senate can continue to conduct other business even while SS debate continues - Democrats simply cannot block everything without severe consequences. While Democrats block SS reform, Republicans can continue to push other priorities through (see bankruptcy reform, tort reform, tax reform, judicial nominations...).
By giving in to Democrats and not forcing them into a defensive/obstructionist position, Bush would be handing them a huge victory on a silver platter. They are then free to pick another issue to draw the line in the sand and obstruct. Even if SS reform never passes - and I'm still confident that it will at some point - it's a fight worth pursuing.
Uh oh - now I get it - I've been had... This better be an April Fool's joke...I'm not so sure it is though.
posted by Richie Rich | 7:24 AM
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