Today's
New Haven Register reports that, in his "first public stance on President Bush's (social security) program," Senator Lieberman denounced (sort of) private accounts as "a very risky thing to do." The Register (motto: "If it happens in Connecticut, it's news to us") omits any mention of how, when or where Lieberman took this public stance. The quotes it prints from Lieberman (which you'll find after the jump) could be fairly characterized as cautious in that they leave some wiggle room for compromise. But Lieberman does, at least, make some of the right noises by highlighting the problems of privatization.
The Register does place Lieberman's comments in the context of the criticism, implicit and explicit, he has received for apparently working for a compromise with the privatizers. The article specifically mentions Paul Begala's comments on the possibility that a Democrat might compromise with the President on this issue.
Apparently, Lieberman consulted a weatherman who told him which way the wind is blowing and decided (at least for now) that the Joementum favored the opponents of privatization.
Here's the Register:
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., said Tuesday he is "totally unconvinced" that the government can shift Social Security toward private accounts without accelerating the onset of the program's insolvency.
"I don't see how you make Social Security more solvent ... by taking trillions of dollars out of the trust fund," Lieberman said, taking his first public stance on President Bush's proposal.
Lieberman echoed fellow Democrats' concern that the multitrillion-dollar cost of transition and the required borrowing could hobble the dollar and hurt the U.S. economy in the long term, calling personal accounts "a very risky thing to do."
The Register summarized Lieberman's position:
Like Bush, Lieberman is opposed to raising the Social Security payroll tax from 6.2 percent paid both by the employee and employer, and is willing to consider levying Social Security payroll taxes over the limit of $90,000, he said.
Lieberman would also consider raising the eligibility age for traditional Social Security benefits from 62, in order to help stave off exhaustion of Social Security's fund balance, he said.