A Conversation on Strengthening Social Security

with

- President George W. Bush -

- Cedar Rapids, Iowa, March 30, 2005 -

President Bush discussed his vision for Social Security reform in a "Conversation on Strengthening Social Security," held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 30, 2005.  PPTO Director Joe Fried participated in the program, which was hosted by Des Moines' Newsradio1040 radio host, Jan Mickelson.  Also participating were Senator Charles Grassley, former Congressman J.C. Watts, and American Spectator contributor David Hogberg.  Audio clips of each speaker are available below.  NOTE:  Some of these are large files that will not load well without a high-speed Internet connection.

Program Host Jan Mickelson gets things rolling with a summary of the issues and introduction of program participants (4.3 MB).

[Guests in order of presentation]

David Hogberg, Research Associate with the Capital Research Center (www.capitalresearch.org), and a regular contributor to the American Spectator online, discusses why the fear of transition costs are unfounded (13.6 MB).

Former Congressman J.C. Watts, discusses issues related to the progressivity of Social Security (8.7 MB).

PPTO Director Joe Fried, discusses abuse in the Social Security disability programs (speaking via telephone from the PPTO in Cleveland, Ohio).  This is a very long segment, with an introduction by Jan Mickelson, and a brief introductory segment by Congressman Bill Thomas (19.9 MB).                   

Senator Charles Grassley comments on views of Alan Greenspan, and notes that a mistake was made when Social Security was tied to wage indexing (4.1 MB).

President George W. Bush notes that insolvency will not affect people 55 or older, but will be a huge problem for younger Americans (12.1 MB).