Claim: During the 2005 fight over Social Security, "there were noisy demonstrations — but they were outside the events," and opponents were "not disruptive — crowds booed lines they didn’t like, but that was about it.
Verdict: REFUTES

Retrieved passages:
title: Montgomery Blair High School
text: visited the school to discuss his plan to partially privatize Social Security. Students were not permitted to attend. Bush's presence at the school drew approximately 400 protesters, who, despite the last-minute announcement of the visit, questioned both his proposed policies and the fact that this town hall-style meeting was not open to the general public. The demonstration included community members, students and union members. The police tried to move the demonstration to a park more than a block away, but protesters pointed out that there was no reason they couldn't continue their peaceful protest on the public sidewalk outside the

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: meeting before Bush appeared, because they had arrived at the event in a car with a bumper sticker reading "No More Blood for Oil". Opponents of Bush's plan have analogized his dire predictions about Social Security to similar statements that he made to muster support for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. A dispute between the AARP and a conservative group for older Americans, USA Next, cropped up around the time of the State of the Union speech. The AARP had supported Bush's plan for major changes in Medicare in 2003, but it opposed his Social Security privatization initiative. In January

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: 2005, before the State of the Union Address, the AARP ran advertisements attacking the idea. In response, USA Next launched a campaign against AARP. Charlie Jarvis of USA Next stated: "They [AARP] are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts. We will be the dynamite that removes them." The tone of the debate between these two interest groups is merely one example among many of the tone of many of the debates, discussions, columns, advertisements, articles, letters, and white papers that Bush's proposal, to touch the "third rail", has sparked among politicians, pundits, thinktankers, and

title: Jim Walden (lawyer)
text: law judges alleging bias against Social Security applicants. The judges named in the lawsuit rejected an average of 63 percent of the cases they heard in the fiscal year the lawsuit was filed, compared with a national average of 36 percent based on an analysis by the New York Times. This action resulted in a settlement agreement, wherein an estimated 4,000 applicants had their cases reheard and the five judges underwent retraining. Walden and the legal team drew praise from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives for their efforts. Walden was also part of the legal team at

title: George W. Bush
text: a portion of their Social Security tax (FICA) into secured investments. Democrats opposed the proposal to partially privatize the system. Bush embarked on a 60-day national tour, campaigning for his initiative in media events known as "Conversations on Social Security", in an attempt to gain public support. Nevertheless, public support for the proposal declined and the House Republican leadership decided not to put Social Security reform on the priority list for the remainder of their 2005 legislative agenda. The proposal's legislative prospects were further diminished by the fall of 2005 political fallout from Hurricane Katrina. After the Democrats gained control

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: taxpayers. Immediately after Bush's State of the Union speech, a national poll brought some good news for each side of the controversy. Only 17% of the respondents thought the Social Security system was "in a state of crisis", but 55% thought it had "major problems". The general idea of allowing private investments was favored by 40% and opposed by 55%. Specific proposals that received more support than opposition (in each case by about a two-to-one ratio) were "Limiting benefits for wealthy retirees" and "Requiring higher income workers to pay Social Security taxes on ALL of their wages". The poll was

title: Tax resistance in the United States
text: the social security program expressed their opposition in terms of opposing government overreach into private lives and contracts, and opposition to socialism. "For those of us who still have confidence in our own ability," one wrote, "such a socialistic thing should not be forced upon us." About a dozen women from around Marshall, Texas organized in 1951 to refuse to submit Social Security taxes on behalf of their domestic help. "It's not the money, it's the principle," said spokesperson Carolyn M. Abney. "That law is unconstitutional." The "Texas Housewives" (as they were invariably called in the newspapers) lost a court

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: challenge" that, if not addressed timely, would "present future Congresses with impossible choices – staggering tax increases, immense deficits, or deep cuts in every category of spending". A liberal think tank, The Center for Economic and Policy Research, says that "Social Security is more financially sound today than it has been throughout most of its 69-year history" and that Bush's statement should have no credibility. In 2004 Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman, deriding what he called "the hype about a Social Security crisis", wrote: President Ronald Reagan stated in October 1984: "Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit...Social

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: from Dana C. Duggins, a vice president of the Social Security Council of the American Federation of Government Employees, that "Trust fund dollars should not be used to promote a political agenda." In the weeks following his State of the Union speech, Bush devoted considerable time and energy to campaigning for privatization. He held "town meetings" at many locations around the country. Attendance at these meetings was controlled to ensure that the crowds would be supportive of Bush's plan. In Denver, for example, three people who had obtained tickets through Representative Bob Beauprez, a Republican, were nevertheless ejected from the

title: White noise (slang)
text: this usage is a politician including more information than needed to mask a point they don't want noticed. The term is used for music that is discordant with no melody, disagreeable, harsh or dissonant. On the January 11, 2005 broadcast of ABC's "Good Morning America", Claire Shipman claimed "the political rhetoric on Social Security is white noise" to most Americans. The novel "White Noise" (1985) by Don DeLillo explores several themes that emerged during the mid- to late twentieth century. The title is a metaphor that shows how the symptoms of postmodern culture came together to make it very difficult

title: Second Thoughts Are Best
text: as feeling unsafe outdoors at night, means to live in an hostile country, a depiction unworthy of his idea of a flourishing England. Social security was seriously threatened by the periodic disbandment of the military forces, a common situation at the conclusion of wars that led to hundreds of soldiers and sailors rambling around the streets of London without an occupation or a decent living arrangement. Periods of peace were commonly marked by an increase of violent crimes. In a post-war London competition for a job was fierce and the criminality rate for robbery and property crime rose alarmingly. Although

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: primarily benefited the poor would have less widespread political support. Finally, the issue of private accounts continued to be a divisive one. Many legislators remained opposed or dubious, while Bush, in his press conference, said he felt strongly about the point. Despite Bush's emphasis on the issue, many Republicans in Congress were not enthusiastic about his proposal, and Democrats were unanimously opposed. In late May 2005, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt listed the "priority legislation" to be acted on after Memorial Day; Social Security was not included, and Bush's proposal was considered by many to be dead. In September, some

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: after the election to help raise $50 million or more for a campaign in support of the proposal, with contributions expected from such sources as the fiscally conservative 501(c)4 organization Club for Growth and the securities industry. In 1983, a Cato Institute paper had noted that privatization would require "mobilizing the various coalitions that stand to benefit from the change...the business community, and financial institutions in particular". Soon after Bush's State of the Union speech, the Club for Growth began running television advertisements in the districts of Republican members of Congress whom it identified as undecided on the issue. A

title: History of Social Security in the United States
text: the Social Security funds will be sound." This turned out not to be the case. The financial picture declined almost immediately and by the early 1980s, the system was again in crisis. After the 1977 amendments, the economic assumptions surrounding Social Security projections continued to be overly optimistic as the program moved toward a crisis. For example, COLAs were attached to increases in the CPI. This meant that they changed with prices, instead of wages. Before the 1970s, wage measurements exceeded changes in price. In the 1970s, however, this reversed and real wages decreased. This meant that FICA revenues could

title: 99Rise
text: In a report following the incident, 99Rise members also noted that a Princeton study concluded the average American had "near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy." They rationalized that there disturbance of the court was one way they could make an impact, or draw attention towards public policy that they find unjust. Immediately following the disruption, the activists were escorted out of the courtroom and were charged with making a harangue or oration. The individuals charged were Andrew Batcher, Irandira Gonzales, Margaret Johnson, Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Katherine Philipson, Curt Ries, and Mary Zeiser. The 8th member in the courtroom, Ryan Clayton,

title: History of Social Security in the United States
text: Americans in the labor force, 70 to 80 percent in some areas in the South, and just over half of all women employed were not covered by Social Security. At the time, the NAACP protested the Social Security Act, describing it as "a sieve with holes just big enough for the majority of Negroes to fall through." Some writers have suggested that this discrimination resulted from the powerful position of Southern Democrats on two of the committees pivotal for the Act's creation, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. However, Larry DeWitt has refuted those arguments,

title: Public image of George W. Bush
text: Security reform a top priority. He proposed options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax (FICA) into secured investments, creating a "nest egg" that he claimed would enjoy steady growth. This led Democrats to label the program a "privatization" of Social Security. Bush embarked on a 60-day tour to shore up public support for the plan, attacking the political reaction against reforms. Ultimately, Congressional Republicans could not reach a consensus on the plan, and the Democrats were unanimously opposed. Bush was left without any political will to pass his reforms. The issue was dropped, and

title: History of Social Security in the United States
text: the time of the program's implementation because they would not have enough time to accumulate adequate benefits. Social Security was controversial when originally proposed, with one point of opposition being that it would reduce the labor force, but supporters argued instead that retiring older workers would free up employment for young men, which during the Depression was a vital point of concern. Opponents also decried the proposal as socialism. In a Senate Finance Committee hearing, one Senator asked Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, "Isn't this socialism?" She said that it was not, but he continued, "Isn't this a teeny-weeny bit

title: Social Security debate in the United States
text: current Social Security system, but to lay the groundwork for dismantling it. They note that, in 2000, when Bush was asked about a possible transition to a fully privatized system, he replied: "It's going to take a while to transition to a system where personal savings accounts are the predominant part of the investment vehicle...This is a step toward a completely different world, and an important step." His comment is consonant with the Cato Institute's reference in 1983 to a "Leninist strategy" for "guerrilla warfare" against both the current Social Security system and the coalition that supports it." Critics of

title: Tax resistance in the United States
text: to a new resurgence of war tax resistance among the traditional peace churches, and to the establishment of nonsectarian war tax resistance as an ongoing part of the American scene. The United States Social Security program had its share of critics and faced political opposition. It also evoked some tax resistance against the payroll and self-employment taxes that funded it. This came from two factions in particular: conservatives who opposed the government program for ideological reasons, and Amish who had religious prohibitions against participating in insurance programs in general. American conservatives who refused to pay payroll or self-employment taxes for