Remarks in a discussion on strengthening social security in Tucson

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, March 28, 2005

You see, in 1950, there was 16 to 1 workers--16 workers for every beneficiary paying into the system. It means each worker didn't have much of a load to carry when it came to making sure that somebody who has retired got their benefits. Today, there are 3.3 to 1--3.3 workers paying into the system. Soon, there will be two workers paying in the system. More people getting greater benefits, living longer, and fewer people paying for us. That's a problem. And it's a problem that begins to manifest itself in 2018 when the Social Security system goes into the red.

Now, let me tell you something about the Social Security system. It's not a trust. A lot of people think, well, we're collecting your money and we're holding it for you, and then when you retire, we're going to give it back to you. That's not the way it works. We're collecting your money, and if we've got money left over--in other words, if there's more money than the benefits promised to be paid, in our hands, we're spending it and leaving behind an IOU. That's how it works. It's called--as a pay-as-you-go system. You pay; we go ahead and spend it. [Laughter]

In 2018, the system goes into the red, and every year thereafter, if we don't do anything, if we do not address the problem, it gets worse and worse and worse. To give you an example, in 2027, the system will be $200 billion in the red--in other words, 200 billion more to pay for the retirements promised to people like me who are living longer than coming in in payroll taxes. And it's 300 billion about 12 years later. In other words, we've got a problem out there. It's not a problem for me. It's not a problem for one senior in Tucson who's receiving a check today, but. it's a problem for your grandchildren.

You see, the question is how your grandchildren are going to pay for these promises the Government has made. And that's what--and that's the problem that Congress must address. See, my attitude is, I'm going to spend a lot of time traveling the country saying, "Here's the problem," and then say to people in Congress, "Bring your ideas."

So in my State of the Union Address, I stood up and said all ideas are on the table except raising up the payroll tax rate--all ideas. See, this isn't a Republican issue or a Democrat issue; this is a national issue that requires people of both parties to give a national response. That's what the people want, and that's what the people expect. The people expect people of good faith to take on an issue today so we can solve it for a generation to come. That's why we ran for office in the first place.

A couple other points I want to make. Laura told me--by the way, she's doing fabulous. I'm a lucky man to have married Laura Bush. She just said, "Make sure you remember there's others on the stage who need to talk too." [Laughter] In other words, "Keep it short." But I'm just getting wound up. I've got a couple other things I want to share with you.

Congress needs to hear from the people that this needs to be a permanent fix. I mean, when we sit down at the table, let's make sure we solve this problem once and for all. Now, in 1983, President Reagan, Tip O'Neill, Bob Dole, I think, other Members of the House and the Senate saw a problem. They came together, and they put together what they call a 75-year fix. The problem is, we're about 22 years after 1983, not 75 years. The math is such that there's no such thing as a 75-year fix. They may tell you there's a 75-year fix, but there's not.