Social Security

The private accounts shell game

UPDATE: Bush last night:

And best of all, the money in the account is yours, and the government can never take it away.

The Washington Post via AmericaBlog:

Even more curiously, a "senior administration official" who briefed reporters on the Social Security proposal earlier today disclosed details of the White House plan that I don't think will play well in Peoria. Most significantly, this official revealed that most or all of the earnings from new "personal" or privatized accounts will be paid not to the holder of the account, but to the government. The senior official called this a "benefit offset." It's one way to finance the creation of these private accounts, but it's going to cause quite a political stir, I think.

It's not going to cause a stir at all because the media will barely report it, and when they do, Mr. Bush will deny it.