Gore Makes a Difficult Pitch to Youth

Vice President Al Gore made an intergenerational pitch for his Social Security plan Friday, warning students in this lush Northwestern city that Republican George W. Bush’s plan to privatize the system would put their retirement benefits at risk.

Addressing about 175 students, seniors and community leaders at Portland Community College, Gore called Social Security “a solemn compact between the generations,” adding that, as president, he would shore up the entitlement program through 2054 by using the budget surplus and paying down the national debt.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee acknowledged that in recent years “a lot of young people thought they were more likely to see a UFO than a Social Security check.”

Gore sought to assure the students that his plan would “save and strengthen Social Security.” In contrast, the vice president said his Republican rival’s plan to allow people to invest their Social Security contributions in the stock market puts the program at risk.

“You know, privatization may sound like a beguiling idea when the stock market is booming,” Gore said, speaking to a packed hall. “But think about what happens when that first generation of Americans retires in a bear market. They would be left trying to live off worthless paper, and we as a nation could be stuck with sky-high bailout costs.”

Gore faces a challenge in using this issue to appeal to young people, many of whom are skeptical that they will collect Social Security and supportive of plans to give them discretion to invest some of the funds privately.

“This is a very difficult issue to galvanize young people for or against,” said Richard Thau, president of Third Millennium, a nonpartisan youth advocacy group.

“They don’t think it’s going to be there for them. For themselves, they don’t see an urgency,” Thau said.

However, he added, most young people are inclined to support some privatization because they’ve seen their peers reap windfalls from the stock market and they have little faith that the government can manage their money better.

“Trying to scare them that this is going to be bad for them is not going to work,” he said.

After Gore’s remarks, several students said they believe the vice president’s plan for Social Security is less risky than Bush’s. But, they added, young people will not necessarily go to the polls on that issue.

“It’s something that will affect us in the future, so it is something we need to think about,” said Elizabeth Fox, 22, a student at Southern Oregon University. “But what students care about is more grants, less loans. That’s what’s going to get people to vote.”

Gore will also speak to a student audience about Social Security in Philadelphia on Monday, the same day Bush will detail his plan to allow private investment with the retirement funds. Aides say Gore will tout his plan again in New York on Tuesday and in an address to seniors in Florida on Wednesday.

Gore visited Oregon one week before the state’s May 16 primary, hoping to shore up support in a region that traditionally has backed Democrats. Recent polls in the Northwest, however, have put the vice president in a dead heat with Bush.

On his arrival in Oregon, Gore was forced into a regional controversy when the state’s Democratic governor, John Kitzhaber, criticized the vice president in a front-page article published in The Oregonian on Friday.

Kitzhaber said Gore’s silence on a controversial plan to help preserve dwindling salmon stock “baffles” him. He urged the vice president to have a post-election summit on the merits of breaching dams on the Snake River that have hindered salmon populations.

While some federal agencies are considering the breach plan, local farmers and unions are strongly opposed, saying the increased river flow would cut into irrigation and hurt the regional economy.

Gore met privately with Kitzhaber, who is a vice chairman of the Gore campaign, and Sen. Ron Wyden, who is Gore’s state chairman in Oregon. But he sidestepped the salmon debate.

“I feel it is irresponsible to make a decision or draw a conclusion without consulting all of the parties involved and without utilizing hard science,” he said. He also accused Bush of having “prejudged” the issue by refusing to support any breach of the dams.

“We can develop a plan that can both protect the rivers and restore the salmon runs,” Gore said. “Extinction here is not an option. That’s my bottom line.”