President Proposes Huge Cuts in Social Security Checks

From the Center for American Progress....

President Bush's press conference last night offered few new details about his push to privatize Social Security, with the exception of this whopper: the single largest benefit cuts in the program's history .

Don't be fooled by "progressive indexing." There's nothing progressive about scamming people out of their hard earned retirement dollars by cutting benefits and replacing the most successful public program ever created with a system of private accounts.

Progressive indexing would significantly cut Social Security benefits for millions of Americans. The president's proposed progressive indexation would tie Social Security benefits to inflation rather than wage growth - a move that would force significant benefit cuts for millions of Americans. Under the president's plan, any worker making $58,000 a year or more will see their benefits cut by 31 percent.

On top of the benefit cuts, the president still insists on replacing Social Security with private accounts - a trillion dollar boondoggle that does nothing to ensure a secure retirement. President Bush insisted last night that private accounts must be a part of any legislative package, again confirming his commitment to right-wing ideology over policies that help Americans.

Protect Social Security and help people save on top of their guaranteed benefits. If the president wants to do something progressive, he should raise the earnings cap on Social Security taxes or dedicate his massive tax cuts for the wealthy to help Social Security's solvency. He should help people increase savings options outside of Social Security without replacing the one guaranteed part of a secure retirement.