The day after...Joe still says he supports Social Security

Bristol Press:

U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said Tuesday he is "totally un-convinced" the government can shift Social Security toward private accounts without accelerating the onset of the program’s insolvency.


"I don’t see how you make Social Security more solvent ..by taking trillions of dollars out of the trust fund," Lieberman said, taking his fist public stance on President Bush’s proposal.

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Lieberman echoed fellow Democrats’ concern that the multitrillion dollar cost of transition and the required borrowing could hobble the dollar and adversely impact the U.S. economy in the long term, calling personal accounts "a very risky thing to do."

Lieberman has attended a series of closed-door meetings with policy experts and other Senate moderates on possible reforms, including the administration plan to let workers direct nearly two-thirds of Social Security payroll taxes -- 4 per-cent of each paycheck -- to personal savings accounts for low-risk investment.

Lieberman’s stated desire to work with Republicans on the matter and his reluctance to take hard positions early in the debate led to speculation among more liberal elements of his party that he supported the Bush plan.

Liberal commentator and former John Kerry campaign adviser Paul Begala weighed in on the issue Monday on the CNN talk show Crossfire.

"..Rumors abound that Democrats, perhaps even former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, will find a compromise that allows Mr. Bush to succeed in privatizing part of Social Security," Begala said.

"Look, any Democrats who rescue Mr. Bush’s assault on Social Security ought to be defeated in a primary and allowed to begin their own retirement early," Begala said.

Like President Bush, Lieberman is opposed to raising the Social Security payroll tax from the current 6.2 percent paid both by the employee and employer, and like Bush, Lieberman is willing to consider levying Social Security payroll taxes over the current limit of $90,000, he said.

Lieberman would also consider raising the eligibility age for traditional Social Security benefits, currently 62, to help stave off exhaustion of Social Security’s fund balance, he said.

Crossfire is hurting America.