(2005-03-03) — Shocked and saddened that a New York Times/CBS poll proved he is “out of step with Americans,” President George Bush today outlined a four-point plan to get back in step with people who respond to media polls.

The Times/CBS poll showed that…
- 90 percent of Americans think the budget deficit is a “very serious or somewhat serious” problem,
- 60 percent disapprove of the way the president is handling the deficit,
- 79 percent think it’s the government’s responsibility to provide a “decent standard of living for the elderly.”
- 49 percent don’t think that Social Security will provide the benefits they expect at retirement.
- 55 percent said the problems with Social Security were serious enough that they should be fixed now.
- 51 percent believe allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes on their own is a bad idea.

The president’s “get back in step” initiative, which will synchronize his actions with the financial wisdom of polled Americans, includes the following measures…
-Pay off the budget deficit with money from the Social Security trust fund.
-Use 100 percent of the resulting annual budget surplus to provide a “decent standard of living for the elderly.”
-Tax Social Security retirement benefits on a sliding scale that increases with age and reserve that money to provide future benefits at a level that “most people expect.”
- Turn America’s decaying urban core into a casino enterprise zone to ensure the plan is revenue neutral.

Several dozen Congressional Democrats immediately agreed to co-sponsor the legislation.

Post This to Your Facebook