Almost no one is a more outspoken advocate of President Bush's Social Security plan than Senator Rick Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate leadership, who is campaigning across his state this week, trying to get young people to focus on their retirement.

Mr. Santorum argued, again and again, that the debate over Mr. Bush's plan for private accounts was really about young people's futures, because their benefits were at risk and because Mr. Bush had repeatedly promised that he would make no changes affecting Americans over 55.

This is a key element of the Republican strategy, creating an energized and mobilized younger generation fighting for its piece of an ownership society.

But there is a problem with that approach: retirees and those near retirement, a legendary political force, refuse to be shut out of the debate. At Widener University in Chester on Tuesday afternoon, people over 50 occupied perhaps half the seats at a forum held by Mr. Santorum and asked many of the questions - most of them negative.

At one point, Mr. Santorum looked out at the raised hands and said somewhat plaintively: "I'm seeing a lot of older hands. I'm not seeing any younger hands."

And still they kept coming, the "older hands," with questions that were not really questions.

As both parties take stock of the grass roots on Social Security during this Congressional recess, Pennsylvania underscores the political challenge for Republicans. It is a state with a disproportionate number of older Americans; 15.6 percent of the population was over 65 in the 2000 census, a number exceeded only by Florida.

Social Security has been an important subject here in the past, and Mr. Bush's plan to overhaul it by including private accounts is "a tough issue," said G. Terry Madonna, a professor of public policy at Franklin and Marshall College.

Mr. Santorum is up for re-election in 2006, and a recent poll suggests that he could face an extremely competitive race. He acknowledged somewhat ruefully on Tuesday afternoon that "we'd suffer no electoral consequences for doing nothing" on Social Security.

But Mr. Santorum, who is chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and a favorite of conservatives nationally, was plowing ahead this week with 10 public forums, 7 of them on college campuses. That translates into a far more freewheeling atmosphere than, say, one of Mr. Bush's tightly controlled forums on Social Security.

At Drexel University, for example, Mr. Santorum was greeted by protesters, was heckled during his speech by people declaring their loyalty to Lyndon LaRouche, and was asked several questions by young people on issues that had little to do with Social Security, including same-sex marriage and the global fight against AIDS.

He doggedly made his way through a slide show that highlighted the demographic and financial pressures on Social Security, creating a "perfect storm" of declining revenues and rising costs that, he argued, would inexorably lead to major cuts in benefits or tax increases for Americans 30 and under unless something major was done.

Mr. Santorum did get some support from his audiences on Tuesday. At Widener, Katherine Dombrowski, a 21-year-old junior, said she already had an individual retirement account and was "completely in support" of the idea of privatizing Social Security. "I don't understand what everybody has against the idea of taking care of yourselves," Ms. Dombrowski said to a smattering of applause.

And after the event, several students approached Mr. Santorum, thanked him and expressed their approval.

Still, Democrats like Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, a freshman from the Philadelphia suburbs, say the opposition to the president's plan is intense at the grass-roots level. And the mood of the audience at a meeting Ms. Schwartz held on Monday, at the Jewish Community Center-Klein Branch in Northeast Philadelphia, certainly reflected it.

Moreover, in contrast to Mr. Santorum, several other top Republicans in Pennsylvania are engaged in the same careful distancing from the president's plan that is seen elsewhere in the country. Arlen Specter, the senior Republican senator from the state, has said he has "an open mind" on the president's plan but wants to hear more details.

A spokesman for Representative Michael Fitzpatrick, a freshman Republican from the Philadelphia suburbs, said Mr. Fitzpatrick "cannot take a position on the president's plan until he sees the details," and he did not plan to hold a town meeting this week. Another freshman Republican from the area, Representative Charles W. Dent, said through a spokesman that he, too, "didn't think there was enough of a plan" from Mr. Bush "to have a position on."

Pennsylvania shows the challenge Mr. Bush's allies face as they try to neutralize retirees by promising that their benefits will not be affected. Martin Berger, president of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans, a union retirees group, said older Americans were a potent political force in Pennsylvania and would not sit out this debate. AARP is also expected to be active in states like Pennsylvania.

"We refuse to accept this concept of 'you got yours, now back off,' " Mr. Berger said. "We built the system. We believe it should be available for our children and grandchildren."

In fact, judging from polls and town meetings, many older Americans still have strong feelings about Social Security and skepticism about relying on the private marketplace for retirement security. And Democrats are appealing to those feelings.

Ms. Schwartz told her audience on Monday that the plan would "really dismantle Social Security as you know it" for children and grandchildren, and would lead to great inequities among the generations. "I'm over 55, I'm going to be O.K.; my two sisters are under 55, they're going to see their benefits cut," she said.

"It's going to be an enormous change for anyone under 55," she added. "You know how important Social Security is, right? And you know how important it is to future retirees as well."

Ms. Schwartz's audience - about 50 retirees showed up despite a messy snowfall the night before - was not a hard sell for the Democratic message. Milton Shapiro, 92, who retired from the greeting card business, said people already had opportunities to save outside Social Security, through 401(k)'s and I.R.A.'s. "Social Security is an insurance plan," Mr. Shapiro said.

After the meeting, Mr. Shapiro said he had written to Mr. Bush to suggest incremental fixes to extend Social Security's solvency while maintaining the traditional program. He got a letter back thanking him for his support. "One of his flunkies wrote it," Mr. Shapiro said with a shrug, adding that he is a devoted Democrat.

In the end, Mr. Santorum said, the people who show up and ask questions at public forums often have an agenda. He said he hoped to sway the quieter people with open minds, especially the young.

"It's really their decision - this is a program for younger workers," Mr. Santorum said. "They should fully participate in the development of this policy."

And while there might be a lot of skepticism among older Americans, he said, "I don't think it's a tough sell for the people who are going to be affected by the change, and that's the most important thing."

"I'm not going to let go of this," he said at the end of the day. "And the president's not either."

By Robin Toner, New York Times, Feb 23, 2005

 

At colleges, Santorum touts Bush's Social Security plan

There is a generation gap on the subject of Social Security, and it was much in evidence yesterday as Sen. Rick Santorum brought his campaign for changing the system to the Philadelphia area.

At two stops, morning at Drexel University, afternoon at Widener University, the Pennsylvania Republican encountered skepticism and hostility as he voiced his support for the White House plan to allow creation of personal accounts using payroll taxes.

He was heckled by protesters, called a liar, and told that his views were unconscionable. Those sentiments ranged across the age spectrum.

But the bulk of the positive reaction he did receive came from young people, some of whom say they think they will get a raw deal from Social Security unless an overhaul is made.

At Widener, junior Chris Boggs, 21, told Santorum that he found the idea of personal accounts "very, very exciting. I want the chance to take my money and my retirement into my own hands. I want to have a say in where it goes."

This week, across the nation and the region, the conversation over President Bush's plan to reshape Social Security is being joined. Congress is out of session, and senators and representatives are out among the voters, talking and listening.

Where they're going tells a tale. Democrats are seeking out older Americans. Sen. Jon Corzine (D., N.J.) is coming to Cherry Hill tomorrow in conjunction with the AARP; Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.) had a session with elderly voters Monday at a Jewish community center in Northeast Philadelphia.

Santorum is searching for the young and persuadable. Of the 10 town hall meetings on his schedule this week, all devoted to Social Security, eight were set for college and university campuses.

"It's their decision," Santorum said at Drexel, referring to the young. "This is a program for younger workers. I think older people should be talking to their children and grandchildren about what they want."

Bush has said that his proposal, which allows individuals to put up to 4 percentage points of their payroll taxes into accounts, would not affect anyone born before 1950.

"Social Security is telling younger workers that you're going to get your money back with no return, and we can't even make good on that promise," said the senator, who chairs the Finance Committee's subcommittee on the topic. "I don't know of anyone who would willingly make that investment."

Pedro Rodriguez, 51, executive director of Philadelphia's Action Alliance of Senior Citizens, said that what Santorum is doing is transparent.

"He's trying to do a snow job on younger people, to create a divide between the older generation and the younger generation," Rodriguez said. "He says this money is for you, and not for anybody else."

Many of the senior citizens who came out to hear Schwartz on Monday echoed that sentiment.

"Social Security isn't supposed to be a savings plan; it's social insurance," Milton Shapiro, 92, told the congresswoman. "People already have IRAs and 401(k)s. What more do they need to save? I think Bush wants to sell out to Wall Street."

Schwartz said Monday that she had yet to have a single constituent, old or young, tell her that the idea of personal accounts is one she ought to support. Along with virtually every other Democrat in Congress, she opposes the Bush proposal.

At Drexel, where about 300 people turned out, Santorum was joined by Deputy Social Security Commissioner James B. Lockhart, who stressed his desire to have the retirement system repaired sooner rather than later.

Lockhart, a political appointee, was asked by reporters if his appearance indicated that he was acting as an advocate for personal accounts.

"It's our duty at the Social Security Administration to help the American people understand the problem... . ," Lockhart said. "I think personal accounts, if constructed properly, would be one way to fix Social Security."

He added that he had volunteered to participate in Democratic events as well but that his offer had yet to be accepted.

The overall tenor of Santorum's meetings yesterday was summed up by an exchange that occurred at Drexel.

Santorum asked the audience what would happen in 2008. The response he wanted was that the oldest baby boomers would turn 62 and be eligible for early retirement.

What he got instead, shouted out by an unfriendly voice, was: "George Bush will leave office!"

Actually, that's scheduled for 2009. But many in the crowd cheered anyway.

Coming Social Security events

At 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D., N.J.) will host a town meeting of the AARP at the Cherry Hill Community Center, 820 Mercer St., Cherry Hill.

At 1:30 p.m. Friday, Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) will hold a forum on the future of Social Security at Ann's Choice Fireside Restaurant, 10000 Ann's Choice Way, Warminster, near Street Road and Johnsville Boulevard

By Larry Eichel, Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 23, 2005

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