NH CSE State Director Chuck McGee Statement on SOTU Address

In response to President Bush’s State of the Union address, New Hampshire Citizens for a Sound Economy (NH CSE) State Director Chuck McGee released the following statement:

“Tonight, President Bush showed true leadership in supporting Social Security reform that includes voluntary Personal Retirement Accounts for younger workers. Every reasonable person in America realizes the grim prospects of the Social Security system. Both the Government Accounting Office and the Social Security Administration (SSA) have stated that the system will run a deficit by 2018 and even the SSA has recognized Personal Retirement Accounts as a viable solution. That is why NH CSE and For Our Grandchildren have been working for the last year to educate and mobilize the citizens of New Hampshire on the issue of Social Security reform.

For the past year NH CSE and For Our Grandchildren have conducted town-hall meetings across the state and pressed the presidential candidates to address this issue. We have surveyed the candidates, we have questioned them face-to-face and we have invited them to propose their own solutions. Sadly, only President Bush has shown any leadership on this issue and we believe voters in the 2004 election will be asking, ‘What’s your plan?’

National poll results continue to show support for voluntary Personal Retirement Accounts. The NH CSE and For Our Grandchildren partnership is committed to Social Security reform that:

>>> Guarantees promised benefits for the currently retired and nearly retired,

>>> Does not increase taxes,

>>> Allows workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in Personal Retirement Accounts,

>>> Ensures that workers would own their own accounts—not the government.”