Forbes Praises Greenspan and Gregg on Social Security Reform

Press Release

Americans for Hope, Growth and Opportunity

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 20, 1997

 

STATEMENT BY HON. CHAIRMAN STEVE FORBES PRAISING FED CHAIRMAN ALAN GREENSPAN AND SEN. JUDD GREGG ON SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM
 

(Bedminster, New Jersey) Steve Forbes, Honorary Chairman of Americans for Hope, Growth and Opportunity, a national issues advocacy organization, today issued the following statement:

“I am very impressed with Senator Judd Gregg s deep and serious commitment to Social Security reform, particularly given the fact that the current system is headed for the financial rocks. The hearing Senator Gregg held today as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee s Task Force on Social Security is a very positive development. It suggests that Congress is beginning to give this issue the attention it deserves.

“Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is also to be congratulated. Today, he made two very important points which reinforce the case I began making in the 1996 presidential campaign when I called for a new Social Security system for younger people.

“First, Chairman Greenspan correctly insisted that Congress and the Clinton-Gore Administration not procrastinate any further on moving toward fundamental Social Security reform. This issue is not the third-rail of American politics. It s about the financial security of future generations and it demands prompt and decisive action. To delay reform would, as Chairman Greenspan rightly says, cause truly wrenching adjustments.

“Second, Chairman Greenspan correctly asserted that privatization is worthy of intensive evaluation. What I am saying as I travel around the country, speaking to audiences of young people and retirees, is that we must preserve the Social Security contract for those currently on the system and those about to go on it. A promise made must be a promise kept. But we must also create a new system for younger people where they can invest part and eventually all of their payroll taxes into the private American economy through their own accounts. They could invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bank certificates of deposit, and the like. And individuals not politicians or bureaucrats would control their own accounts. As a result, they would have significantly more upon retirement than under the current, increasingly bankrupt, government-run system. I think people are increasingly ready for such a positive move.”

Contact: Joel Rosenberg, Communications Director, (703) 925-9281 or [email protected] .



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