CNN American Morning - Transcript

CNN American Morning - Transcript

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks.

Well, President Bush has made clear the issues that his administration are going to try to tackle in his second term: social security, gay marriage, terror in Iraq, Iran.

What do Democrats think about the president's agenda? Senator Barbara Boxer of California joins us this morning. Nice to see you.

Obviously, you've been a very outspoken critic and very busy over the last few days and weeks. What did you think of the speech?

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, first I give the president credit. He's getting really good at delivering these speeches. I mean, you compare this one to his first one.

You know, I've seen more than 20 of these state of the union addresses, either from the House, when I was a House member, or Senate. And he did very well.

There were a couple of things in there that I could go along with. He wants to raise the Pell grants. He wants to help our veterans when they come home. And I hope he'll do it as much as we need to do it.

He talked about fully funding Ryan White, which is to help people with AIDS.

O'BRIEN: But these are very minor...

BOXER: They are minor compared...

O'BRIEN: ... because social security in polls out there...

BOXER: Well, let me just get to this...

O'BRIEN: You're giving us the other, other, other.

BOXER: Television loves the conflict, though I will definitely tell you. You had a-silence fell over the Democratic side when he brought up the social security issue.

O'BRIEN: We have a clip of that.

BOXER: Yes. Yes.

O'BRIEN: Let's play a little bit of it first, since you referenced it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By the year 2042, the entire system would be exhausted and bankrupt if steps are not taken to avert that outcome. The only solutions would be dramatically higher taxes, massive new borrowing or sudden and severe cuts in social security benefits or other government programs.

BREAK INN TRANSCRIPT

O'BRIEN: No, really, silence. I mean, it sounded a little more like groaning or booing from the crowd.

BOXER: Well, we turned a little bit into the British parliament, at that point, which is always going, no.

But first of all, it is not true that social security is going to be bankrupt in 2042. Even his own administration says if we do nothing, which of course, we will do something just as we did when Ronald Reagan was president. And we fixed it in a bipartisan way very easily.

But even if we did nothing, it would still have enough money in there to pay everyone 70 to 80 percent of benefits.

So the president is really using a playbook that was written in the '80s. I actually have copies of it-it's very interesting-from right-wing think tanks who wanted to end social security back then.

O'BRIEN: President Clinton...

BOXER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: ... in his 1999 state of the union address said that social security was going to fall apart, I think it was by 2013. So, I mean, obviously, it's been an issue that's come up again and again.

Clearly it sounds like the president is saying, this is the year to do something. What's wrong with that thinking?

BOXER: I'm sure President Clinton did not say social security is going to fall apart by 2013.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, I've got to tell you...

BOXER: I'm sure what he did say, Soledad, was that we, of course, have to keep making adjustments to social security just as we do in our own homes as we have more bills to pay.

We have to just make some adjustments in how we spend our money. So this is something that we knew.

Now, in 1978, when George Bush, candidate for congress, ran for congress, he predicted-and we have the quotes from all the newspapers-that social security would go broke in 1988 if it wasn't privatized.

So this is something he's wanted to do for a very long time. And the truth of the matter is, if you look at social security, it has been so successful. And without it, 50 percent -- 50 percent of our seniors-would be living in poverty.

And I used to be a stock broker. So I just want to say to your viewers right now, I've seen the markets go up, I've seen them go down. One thing you know you don't get with the stock market is security.

Another point I think is interesting. Remember when the president looked out at the crowd, he said, now you people have personal accounts. So if you people, meaning the senators and congress people have personal accounts, why shouldn't everybody?

The truth is, we do have personal accounts. But guess what? That's on top of social security. We have social security. That's on top of a defined benefit pension plan. It's just one of these things, it's an add-on. It's not the basic foundation of retirement.

O'BRIEN: Here is what Clinton said, "By 2013, payroll taxes will no longer be sufficient to cover monthly payments." It goes on and on. That's from the 1999 state of the union.

BOXER: Thank you. And that's why we fixed it, and now-we fixed it then. And it's going to be fine until 2052, according to most experts.

O'BRIEN: When it's completely not fine. I mean, it falls apart.

BOXER: Not completely, it doesn't fall apart, Soledad.

You see, here's your point that you're missing, I think. And I have to make a point. Social security is not falling apart unless you decide you don't want it anymore, like George Bush decided.

And how he's going to ruin it is, he's going to borrow $2 trillion so that we can afford not to move to personal accounts...

O'BRIEN: If you do not do anything by 2052, there's no more money in the fund, is that correct?

BOXER: No, there will be enough money in the fund in 2052...

O'BRIEN: To fund 70 percent is what people are putting out.

BOXER: Yes, but of course we're not going to do-of course we're going do something just as we did with Ronald Reagan.

Now Ronald Reagan was a strong, conservative Republican. I was in the congress at that time. We all got together, and we fixed social security.

O'BRIEN: So you're taking issue with the way the president wants to fix it, not the fixing of it at all?

BOXER: No, he wants to destroy it. He wants to change it. He wants to borrow $2 trillion-and that's a fortune for us; we can't afford that-and put it into these transition costs so that we can now have no social security at the end of the day for the young people, and they will invest in the stock market.

And what I'm saying is that's a dangerous deal.

O'BRIEN: Democrats have said, no way. I mean, we heard Harry Reid say, this is just not going to happen. Democrats aren't going to play.

Republicans have also said this is going to be a very, very, very, very, very tough sell.

I guess my question would be, if you look at the polls, people say -- 74 percent say-he made a convincing case in the speech last night for social security change.

In Iraq, did he move the country in the right direction?

On social security, yes, 66 percent. Those are very solid numbers. He has obviously connected with the American people. So are the Democrats and the Republicans who are on the fence out of touch?

BOXER: Well, I think these polls are interesting. Was this a poll of the whole country or the people who watched the speech?

O'BRIEN: The people who watched the speech.

BOXER: Yes, so you need to understand who watched the speech.

Be that as it may, that's fine. He gave a good speech. I could give a good speech. And once I tell people, as a former stock broker, that what the president is trying to do is to walk away from a program that has been secure, that has worked, that he predicted in 1978 it would be gone in 1988, that in fact if you rely on the market --

we have seen people in my office after the Enron scandal who lost every, single penny. They put all their money in Enron.

So what we need to do is come together, as we did under Ronald Reagan, we need to say, yes, our young people can have personal accounts. We can make that happen.

That should be an add-on, just like all the senators and all the congressmen have, basic social security that is always going to be there and an add-on if you want to do it.

And I think that will be the great solution to this issue.

O'BRIEN: Senator Barbara Boxer, nice to see you, as always. We only got to social security. You had so much more to talk about on this speech.

BOXER: Yes, I he also had an open checkbook for Iraq, but that's a whole other program.

O'BRIEN: Well, we have no time.

BOXER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Nice to see you, as always.

BOXER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

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