Never Mind the Social Security Numbers

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

"White House allies are launching a market-research project to figure out how to sell" privatizing Social Security, while "Republican marketing and public-relations gurus are building teams of consultants," reports the Washington Post. The effort, led by Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman, "will use Bush's campaign-honed techniques of mass repetition, never deviating from the script and using the politics of fear to build support." Groups including Progress for America, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Republican Jewish Coalition are also advocating for privatization. Progress for America's TV ads, which include images of Franklin D. Roosevelt, have been protested by FDR's family. His grandson wrote, "My grandfather would surely oppose the ideas now being promoted by this administration and your organization."

Main Source: 
Washington Post, January 14, 2005
Topics: 
Democracy
Public Relations

Comments

bugsbananas replied on

Social Security should be left out of privatization. The majority of Americans do not know how to invest and many will do so unwisely. A few will do better by this, but the majority will not. This is NOT the way to fix SS. A little Common Sense should tell them that. Franklin Roosevelt would never agree to such a proposal.

redbrave replied on

FDR was truly a man ahead of his time. In fact he did see that a one dimensional Social Security plan would not suffice and meet all of the needs of this growing country. In his original proposal he in fact endorsed the idea of personal accounts: This from the SOcial Security Website - The draft bill submitted by FDR differed in many interesting respects from the final Social Security Act which emerged from Congress in August 1935. For example, FDR had proposed a three-part program of old-age security consisting of: old-age welfare pensions; compulsory contributory social insurance (what we now think of as Social Security); and a third-tier which would consist of optional annuity certificates sold by the government to workers who, upon retirement, could convert the certificates to monthly annuities which would be used as supplements to their basic Social Security retirement benefit. Maybe someone should tell his grandson.