NORWAY – Local people had an opportunity to be heard on proposed changes to Social Security when Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, stopped in town Wednesday.
Michaud addressed about 25 people at the Fare Share Commons. He said he is against the Bush administration’s plan to reform the country’s long-standing retirement and disability benefits program.
“Social Security is under threat like never before,” Michaud said, referring to the Bush plan.
While the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that by 2052 there will be a 20 percent shortfall in money required to cover Social Security disbursements, Michaud said this is not an immediate “crisis” as claimed by the Bush administration. What the country needs, he said, is an alternative plan that will take a more comprehensive, long-term approach.
Bush’s proposal to allow workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in stocks and bonds is part of what “will cause Social Security to be less secure than it is today,” Michaud said. He said the change would come with a $5 trillion price tag.
Resident Duncan Slade commented that the move would benefit Wall Street. “Boy, they must have stars in their eyes about how much money is going to be pushed into the market.”
When asked what might be proposed as an alternative to the Bush plan, Michaud said he couldn’t answer that question because the entire Bush plan has yet to be unveiled.
He urged people against the proposal to contact their U.S. senators and representatives, and to write letters to the editor of newspapers.
“I can tell you that unless the public gets involved, what might happen may not be what the public wants,” Michaud said.
He was expected to meet with voters in Fryeburg later Wednesday.
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