From: b645zaw@utarlg.uta.edu (Stephen Tice)
Subject: Debate 2:  Bankrupt Retirement Funds.
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: The University of Texas at Arlington
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 05:44:00 GMT

Moderator:  We are a little more than half way through this program and
            I'm glad we're getting the diversity of questions that we
            are and I don't want to forget these folks on the wings
            over here. So let's go over here. Do You have a question?

Questioner: Yes I do. My name is Ben Smith, and I work in the financial
            field counseling retirees. And I'm personally concerned 
            about three major areas. One is the Social Security admini-
            stration. The trust fund is projected to be insolvent by 
            the year 2036. And we funded the trust fund with IOUs in 
            the form of treasury bonds. The Pension Guarantee fund
            which backs up our private retirement plans for retirees
            is projected to be bankrupt by 2026, not to mention the
            cutbacks by private companies. And Medicare is projected
            to be bankrupt, maybe as soon as 1997. And I would like 
            from each of you a specific response as to what you intend 
            to do for retirees relative to these issues. Not generali-
            ties but specifics, because I think they are very disturb-
            ing issues. 

Clinton:    Let me say first of all I want to answer your specific
            question. But first of all, we all agree that there should
            be a growing economy. What you have to decide is who's got
            the best economic plan. And we all have ideas out there and
            Mr. Bush has a record. So I don't want you to read my lips
            and I sure don't want you to read his. I do hope you will
            read our plans. Specifically, one -- on medicare, it is not
            true that everyone knows how to fix it. There are different
            ideas, the Bush Plan, the Perot Plan and the Clinton Plan.
            We have different ideas. I am convinced having studied 
            health care for a year -- hard -- and talking to hundreds
            and hundreds of people all across America that you can not
            control the cost of medicare until you control the cost of
            private health care and public health care, with managed
            competition, a ceiling on costs and radical reorganization
            of the insurance markets. You've gotta do that. You've gotta
            get those costs down. Number two -- with regard to social
            security, that program and a lot of you may not know that
            it produces a $70 billion dollar surplus a year. Social
            Security is in surplus $70 billion dollars. Six increases
            in the payroll tax, that means that people with incomes of
            $51,000 dollars a year or less pay a disproportionally 
            higher share of the federal tax burden, which is why I want
            some middle class tax relief. What we have to do, by the time
            the century turns, we have got to have our deficit under con-
            trol. We have to work it out so that surplus is building up, 
            so that when baby boomers like me retire ok. Number three --
            on the pension funds, I don't know as much about it, but
            what I will say is this, what I will do is to bring in the
            pension experts of the country, take a look at it and 
            strengthen the pension requirements further, because it's
            not just enough to have a guarantee. We had a guarantee on
            the S&Ls right. We had a guarantee -- what happened? You
            picked up a $500 billion dollar bill, because of the dumb
            way the Federal Government deregulated. So I think we are
            going to have to change and strengthen the pension require-  
            ments on private retirement plans. 


1st, He tosses out a lip joke, after promising no attacks.

2nd, He offers the democratic plan to take over the health and
     insurance industries.

3rd, He then fails to follow up on the fact that the Social Security
     surplus is invested in Government securities -- which means we
     pay it straight into the deficit.

And, He tosses in S&Ls and a middle class tax cut to make it all real
     clear.

Yep, that's good old "$500-Billion-Dollar Bill" Clinton. 


/                 \
  Stephen D. Tice        I wonder if P.T. Barnum is his hero?
  Arlington Texas
\                 /