First out of the gate

Fred Thompson has put a proposal on the table to deal with the Social Security mess. It sounds like a good plan so far.

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"The Republican candidate laid out a detailed, four-page proposal calling for the creation of voluntary personal retirement accounts and a change in the formula for future retirees that would result in lower Social Security benefits.

It is a risky move for the former actor and lawmaker from Tennessee. He is the only presidential candidate so far to make Social Security an anchor of his campaign. Although all of the presidential candidates have spoken, when asked, about the need to fix the Social Security system, none has offered such a detailed plan nor talked so eagerly and often about the issue.

They all recall President Bush's failed effort in 2005 as a lesson in the political pitfalls and substantive complexities of trying to change the program. He twice campaigned on letting workers carve private accounts from Social Security revenues. But even fellow Republicans wouldn't go along, in large part because of the borrowing his plan would require for a nation already in deep debt.

By the government's calculations, Social Security won't be collecting enough revenues to pay full benefits to recipients starting about 2041.

"I've been concerned about this for some time," Mr. Thompson told reporters Friday. "Basically, [my plan] will assist Americans in saving more for themselves during their working years and not having to depend on the government for their entire retirement."

The Thompson campaign said its proposal wouldn't affect Social Security benefits received by current retirees or those nearing retirement. To pay for his private-account program, the government, which is likely to be running deficits for the foreseeable future, would have to borrow more money.

Mr. Thompson is proposing cutting future Social Security benefits for workers under age 57 by calculating their initial monthly benefit using a formula that indexes to prices rather than wages."

Sounds like a variation on the 401K plan. And it sounds like a solid idea. It's far better to prepare for one's retirement now than to wait and hope the government will be able to do so later. Of course, given the beating George Bush took for a similar idea, who knows what the odds are that this will get through Congress? Just about everyone up there pays lip service to fixing the system, but are afraid to actually do anything.

I don't want my taxes doubled to pay for Social Security down the road. Nor do I want 20 million illegals given amnesty so they can help prop up the system. I think it's time to face the truth that the government can't provide for us in our old age, and that we'd better prepare for that ourselves.