NBC Nightly News Transcript

SHOW: NBC NIGHTLY NEWS (6:30 PM ET)
November 1, 2000, Wednesday
HEADLINE: TOM BROKAW INTERVIEWS AL GORE ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY
ANCHORS: TOM BROKAW

BODY:

TOM BROKAW, anchor: Once again, the vice president, who has accepted NBC's invitation to discuss a different issue nightly on this broadcast, is with us. Governor Bush preferred a one-time interview.

Mr. Vice President, as you heard David Gregory say, a lot of people have the impression that you are suggesting that Governor Bush's plan to reform Social Security will threaten current benefits for senior citizens. All the independent analysts that we have talked to said that's simply not the case, that Social Security is good to go for at least another 10 to 15 years.

Vice President AL GORE: Well, 10 to 15 years is not good enough, Tom. In fact, if you look at it from the standpoint of somebody in his or her middle 40s right now, under my plan the Social Security fund will be solvent until they reach their 100th birthday, at least. Under Governor Bush's plan it will go bankrupt about the time they start looking for their first checks. Now look, if you take a trillion dollars out of the trust fund and promise it to two different groups of people—and that's what he has done—then those numbers don't add up. And when you asked him about it last night, using the American Academy of Actuaries numbers, he said he didn't accept their premises, he hadn't read the report. He has declined to give out any further details of how his numbers might add up. And I think the reason is that—that they don't. I will protect Social Security.

BROKAW: Mr. Vice President, that same American Academy of Actuaries is just as critical of your plan, saying that your arithmetic and your assumptions are also erroneous, that you are going to use general revenue, that you're going to count on these surpluses being just what they are forever. And they say you are either going to have to extend the retirement age or cut benefits or raise taxes after 10 to 15 years.

Vice Pres. GORE: That's not the way I read the report, Tom. It is true that you can characterize part of my proposal as putting general revenue funds into Social Security. I wouldn't characterize it that way. Let me explain to you exactly what I do. I put Social Security into a lock box. A budget category that's—that cannot be touched for anything but Social Security. And I will veto anything that takes money out of it. That results in a reduction of the public debt, which saves us, in interest payments, a lot of money. And that savings I would put right back into the trust fund. It would otherwise go into general revenue, but it would not be available at all except for the sound management of the trust fund. That mechanism extends the life of Social Security out 55 years without cutting benefits and without raising taxes. Now Governor Bush actually would require the fund to go bankrupt and borrow as much as $ 3 trillion, the first time it has ever engaged in that kind of borrowing.

BROKAW: Mr. Vice president, even Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey was saying tonight that he likes the idea of existing—of Governor Bush's plan of creating some private savings account within Social Security, although he doesn't like all the financing plans. Would you absolutely reject forever the idea that young people, especially, could invest their own payroll taxes, even if they knew there was a risk involved?

Vice Pres. GORE: I have an ambitious and bold proposal Tom, to give a brand new tax incentive for young workers to save and invest. Under this plan, if they save and invest, they will save tax-free and the federal government will match their savings. And I won't go into the exact formula, but it's generous and an incentive that will work. The difference between my plan and Governor Bush's plan is that mine is on top of Social Security. It's Social Security plus. His is Social Security minus. And the problem with taking that money out of the trust fund is that—look, here is the way Social Security works. The—the money paid in this year goes to finance the benefits that are paid this year, mostly. And if you take a—a major portion of it away--16 percent is what he takes away—then you either have to make it up from somewhere else or you have to accept the fact that the trust fund is going to go quickly bankrupt. And—and Governor Bush refuses to answer those questions, dodged them with you last night, because—I think it's because he doesn't have answers due to the fact that he promised the money to two different groups of people. I will not do that. I will protect Social Security and give young workers a brand new incentive to save and invest.

BROKAW: Mr. Vice President, thank you very much for being with us again tonight.

Vice Pres. GORE: Thank you, Tom.

BROKAW: Let the record show that a number of independent analysts have said of both plans that there are still many details that we need to know before we can settle on which one has the best chance of surviving.

Copyright 2000 National Broadcasting Co. Inc. NBC News Transcripts.