(CA) Press Enterprise: Reform fog

Reform fog

10:15 PM PST on Sunday, March 20, 2005

(snip)

President Bush said in December, "I will propose a solution at the appropriate time." But Bush on Wednesday said he has no specific timetable to put forth a plan. Instead, he urged Congress -- yet again -- to "start talking about how we're going to permanently fix Social Security."

Meanwhile, the White House is getting pummeled by opinion polls that show two-thirds of the public dislikes the president's "plan," such as it is.

To his credit, the president has made a compelling case for tackling Social Security reform now -- not in 15 or so years, when the government will start disbursing more in benefits than it collects in payroll taxes.

(snip)

Until President Bush leads with a clear reform plan, he risks missing what could be a narrow window to act. If the debate languishes until next year, entitlement reform will probably stall. Congress will likely shrink from such a contentious issue in an election year. And after the 2006 election, the political focus will shift to who will succeed Bush, further hindering reform.

(snip)

Online at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_D_op_21_ed_socsec1.a227b.html