Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 25, 1994 TAG: 9410250084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER NOTE: lede
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Today's workers "probably [are] not going to get that option, but kids who are yet to pay in ought to have that option," North said during a stop at a Vinton nursing home.
He predicted that if Social Security were made voluntary, "I think you'd find a lot of people opting out of it. That's why you're probably going to have a phase-in period on it."
The Republican candidate stressed that he's not proposing any changes that would affect current Social Security recipients. "We don't go after those who are vested in it," he said.
And he proposed that younger people who have already paid into Social Security should "at least ... get back what they've got in."
But North said he's willing to make Social Security voluntary for "the next generation," which hasn't yet started to pay into the system.
North seemed to suggest that with baby boomers nearing retirement age, something needs to be done to reduce the number of Social Security recipients.
"We've got 62 million Americans on the wagon that 91 million American households are pulling. We've got to find ways to get people off the wagon. Otherwise, nobody's going to be able to pull it."
However, the proposals he floated seemed to have more to do with reducing the number of people paying into the system, rather than cutting the number of beneficiaries.
Aides later offered a clarification, saying North simply believes "everything ought to be on the table" when it comes to discussing the long-term future of Social Security.
Campaign spokesman Dan McLagan stressed that North is committed to making sure people already paying Social Security taxes get the benefits they're entitled to. "The folks in the pipeline have to be taken care of ... That's a sacred covenant."
He also said North would withdraw his idea for making the system voluntary for that "next generation" if it meant there wouldn't be enough Social Security taxes to pay for the people who stay in. "If by them opting out would collapse the system, then they can't opt out," McLagan said.
He described North's comments on making Social Security voluntary as "not a major policy pronouncement" and something that, even if enacted, would be "long-term."
But spokesmen for Democratic incumbent Sen. Charles Robb and independent Marshall Coleman quickly pounced on North's comments, citing them as evidence that North doesn't know what he's talking about.
Robb spokesman Bert Rohrer called it "an extreme measure that would undermine the integrity of a system that already faces funding shortages in the next century."
Coleman spokesman Anson Franklin said it's another example of North "talking first and thinking second, like he did on the Confederate flag."
He pointed out that Social Security isn't like a bank account, where people take out the money they've paid in. Instead, younger people pay taxes that go to support older people. If those younger people opt out of the system, Franklin asked, what happens to the retirees? "North has a choice between abandoning them or raising taxes to make up the difference."
North's comments on Social Security came during his only publicly announced campaign appearance of the day, a news conference at the Berkshire nursing home in Vinton. North hoped to use the backdrop of a room filled with senior citizens to tie Robb to what he described as a Clinton administration plot to cut Social Security benefits and raise taxes.
North's evidence was a memo, written by federal budget director Alice Rivlin, that was leaked over the weekend, in which Rivlin spells out various budget options for President Clinton to consider. The White House immediately distanced itself from the memo, saying it contained options that Clinton "never in a million years" would propose.
North called the memo evidence of a Clinton plot to raid the Social Security trust fund "to fund their liberal agenda and programs." While Democrats are talking about cutting Social Security cost-of-living allowances, North touted himself as a defender of senior citizens.
Later, in a question-and-answer session with reporters, North was asked what he would do to maintain the long-term solvency of Social Security as the baby-boom generation moves into its retirement years.
North was reminded that while older workers may receive more Social Security benefits than they paid in, younger workers won't.
"As a matter of fact," North replied, "one of the things we've got to do is make sure the next generation that's paying in has the kind of options to allow them to be secure in their golden years."
North said he wanted to see a system that "allows you and your kids to set aside money that you manage. I mean how did we fall for the gag that says if you send the money to the federal government, they know better [what] to do with it than you do? I want to be sure we make changes that allow you to make those decisions."
So, would North allow people to opt out of the system, to not pay any Social Security taxes in return for not receiving any benefits later?
"You're probably not going to get that option, but kids who are yet to pay in ought to have that option."
To make it voluntary?
"Yeah," he replied. "Those are the kinds of ideas that are coming out."
What would happen to the system if there were a voluntary option?
"Oh, I think you'd find a lot of people opting out of it," North replied. "That's why you're probably going to have a a phase-in period on it. Let me put it to you bluntly: Wouldn't you opt out of it?"
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB