The Feeling of Social Insecurity

Re “Bush Takes Social Security Campaign on the Road,” Feb. 4: Throughout the election campaign we saw only vetted audiences for the president’s speeches on the road. In fact, those who got in and asked real questions were escorted out. According to The Times, “In Fargo, White House advance teams packed ... Bison Sports Arena with a friendly audience of more than 7,000. They gave Bush a raucous, campaign-style welcome -- and kept it up throughout the event.” This type of vetted audience gives a wrong impression of how enthusiastic the voters are for his change of Social Security.

One channel showed protesters outside the arena. Your account was the only one I saw that told us how his “conversations” are only with those already committed to anything Bush says. Please continue to keep us informed about his selective audiences.

Arlene Appley

West Covina

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There is a simple and noncontroversial solution to the Social Security shortfall: Have the Social Security program set up a blind trust investing a portion of the payroll taxes in the stock market for all of us. The higher return from the stock market will guarantee benefits forever.

Feng-chuan Liu

La Canada Flintridge

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Social Security is a baseline, not a comprehensive retirement system. Only those least able to manage their finances rely on it exclusively -- for the rest of us, how much difference will $1,000 a year make? Everyone can and should save for retirement, if only because Congress loves establishing tax-advantaged programs and then changing the rules.

Bush’s personal accounts sound like my Schwab 401(k), but more expensive and less flexible. Why set up a whole new bureaucracy when you could tweak an existing program to make it more attractive while continuing to protect our neediest workers?

Linnea Warren

Pasadena

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The president took great efforts to reassure persons 55 years and older that they had nothing to worry about in his proposed changes to Social Security as nothing would be changed that would affect them. His proposed changes, which includes privatization, he emphasized, would affect only those younger than 55. If his proposed changes are such a good plan, why would he have to reassure those 55 and older that these changes would not affect them?

Madeline DeAntonio

Encino

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With regard to Social Security and Bush’s inspired plan to try to privatize some of it, has it ever occurred to our sainted leader that every job that is outsourced to foreign countries represents a great deal of money not being contributed to the plan?

Barbara Bryson

Beverly Hills

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The president, who in four years depleted the huge surplus that our country accumulated and turned it into a multitrillion-dollar deficit (an admirable feat in itself!), is now spouting more economic “advice and wisdom” regarding Social Security funds? In case you haven’t noticed, over the last four years the investment community has been hit with a significant number of financial scandals, including fraud and outright theft.

When I retire in 30 years, I will be less concerned with the government informing me that my benefits will only be 75% of what was originally promised, and more concerned about a private company informing me that 100% of my directed funds are gone, having been stolen by an unscrupulous employee or simply depleted due to poor investment decisions by a portfolio manager, resulting in my becoming a ward of the state.

Mark Karpe

Long Beach