President Bush is keeping his promise to appose all tax increases, finding better options for Social Security

WASHINGTON – Citing President Bush’s promise to taxpayers, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) praised the Bush administration today for taking a hard line stance in protecting Social Security. President Bush announced Thursday that he will not raise payroll taxes but will instead focus on private savings accounts to ensure the solvency of Social Security.

President Bush has signed ATR’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge," a written commitment to American taxpayers to oppose any and all tax increases. He joins 46 U.S. Senators, and 222 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, seven governors and 1239 state legislators in signing the Pledge.

“The Bush administration has cut taxes every year for the past four years,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for tax reform. “He will now carry that philosophy over to Social Security, minimizing government bureaucracy instead of increasing personal dependence.”

The U.S. is approaching a crisis according to the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA). In a 2004 projection, the SSA reported that the cost of Social Security will outpace taxpayer funding by the year 2018 and the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2042. According to the American Shareholders Association, unfunded liabilities at this time total $11 trillion.

“President Bush has made it clear that he will not sit around and wait for disaster to hit,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “Lets face facts, Social Security is an impending problem and personal savings accounts are the preeminent solution.”

The Bush plan avoids short-term “solutions” such as an increasing the payroll tax and raising the retirement age. Instead, the plan would save Social Security without reducing benefits received by allowing taxpayers to invest a portion of such taxes into private savings accounts.

“Through personal savings accounts, every American would become the landlord to his or her own retirement,” continued Norquist. “This would constitute the largest tax cut in history and would provide all taxpayers equal opportunities for ownership.”