"The American public will never accept the enormous costs of transitioning to Social Security privatization. The CBO report should be the final evidence that privatization will prove to be fiscally irresponsible."- - Barbara B. Kennelly

Statement By The Honorable Barbara B. Kennelly On Congressional Budget Office Analysis Of Social Security Privatization Plans  

Following the release of a Congressional Budget Office analysis of two plans that would privatize Social Security, Barbara B. Kennelly, former U.S. Congresswoman and current President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, issued the following statement:

"The CBO findings reaffirm our belief that the costs of implementing private accounts far exceed the relative costs of strengthening the current system. It costs less to shore up the current Social Security system than it will to transition to privatization. If the President believes that there is enough money to fund private accounts, then he must also realize that there is more than enough money to preserve Social Security.

The CBO analysis highlights the most damaging aspects of any privatization plan including those proposed by the President's panel and the Bipartisan Retirement Security Act of 2004 (HR 3821) - the huge transition cost to the federal government on top of the draconian cuts in guaranteed benefits to retirees. If these reckless plans are allowed to become law, there will be a high level of uncertainty facing future generations when they are forced to base their retirement on the unpredictable performance of the investment markets and the reductions in the guaranteed benefit structure that Social Security presently provides.

These privatization plans promise, at best, an uncertain financial picture for individuals and a potentially negative long-term blow to the general economy."