Means Testing Social Security

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After a 60-day cross-country social security road show that never seemed to gain a lot of traction, President Bush is now trying something different. He is not abandoning his idea of private accounts, but he is pushing for changes that he says would make social security solvent.

The idea is called “progressive indexing” and it would cut Social Security benefits for higher income workers while protecting benefits for others. It is the brainchild of the mutual fund guru Robert Pozen.

Pozen is a Democrat who says this plan would preserve social security while making sure that the workers who need help the most get it. Critics, however, warn that his ideas would turn Social Security into a welfare program.

Guests:

Robert Pozen Chairman of MFS Investment Management in Boston, former president of Fidelity Management & Research Company — and was part of President George Bush’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security from 200 – 2002

Jason Furman, Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities based in DC, and served as Special Assistant to President Clinton for Economic Policy.