NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 5, 2005 - 7A
Bush Social Security reform expected within week
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is
focusing on a Social Security proposal that would allow
younger workers to invest nearly two-thirds of their pay-
roll taxes in private accounts, with contributions limited
to about $1,000 to $1,300 a year, an administration official
said yesterday.
A proposal is expected to be unveiled in late February.
But the White House cautioned that President Bush has not
decided on a specific plan.
The administration official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the size of the private accounts could be sim-
ilar to a proposal by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a plan
from Bush's 2001 Social Security commission.
Both plans let workers divert 4 percentage points of their
6.2 percentage points in payroll taxes into accounts. The
federal 12.4 percent payroll tax is split between workers and
employers. Workers' remaining 2.2 percentage points in taxes
continue going into the system.
Graham's plan calls for annual contributions to be capped
at $1,300, while the commission proposed a lower limit of
$1,000.
Bush "has not endorsed any specific proposal," said White
House spokesman Scott McClellan. "We are looking at a
number of ideas for strengthening Social Security and will
continue working closely with congressional leaders to move
forward in a bipartisan way to get it done this year."
To sell the idea of a Social Security overhaul - and private
investment accounts - the administration plans to duplicate
its successful campaign for tax cuts. At an event planned for
Monday, Bush will meet with White House-approved people
of varying ages to illustrate how changes to Social Security
would affect different generations.
The strategy is similar to Bush's efforts to gain support
for his tax cut packages by featuring "tax families" and their
financial situations.
"That's the model," said Michael Tanner, director of the
Cato Institute's Project on Social Security Choice. The lib-
ertarian think tank has been a longtime proponent of invest-
ment accounts, and is pressing for larger accounts by letting
workers invest all of their payroll taxes.
"This is the way the president tends to campaign on these
issues," Tanner said, noting similar strategies for Bush's
Medicare and education plans. "He hasn't lost one he wanted
to win yet."
Cabinet officials are stepping up their roles in the effort.
Treasury Secretary John Snow, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao
and others can be expected to visit communities across the
country to bolster the administration's desire for change.
Selling the overhaul "is more of a challenge than they
expected," said David John, Social Security senior analyst
at the conservative Heritage Foundation. The administra-
tion needs to spend time making the case for urgent reform,
countering Democrats' claims that the severity of the future
shortfall is being exaggerated, he said.
Social Security is projected to start paying out more in
benefits than it collects in taxes in 2018, though it can cover
full benefits until 2042. Then, about 73 percent of promised
benefits can be paid.
The administration so far has refused to discuss the dif-
ficult financial trade-offs required to remake the system.
For example, any proposal offered will cut traditional ben-
efits for younger workers to help fund the future shortfall.
Also, the administration must identify $800 billion to $2 tril-
lion over 10 years to continue funding retirees benefits once
the payroll taxes are diverted into accounts.
Under the main plan offered by Bush's commission, prom-
ised benefits would be cut almost in half for some younger
workers, with reductions ranging from 0.9 percent to 45.9
percent. Investments in the personal accounts are counted on
to make up the loss in income.
Cuts would occur by changing the formula used to calcu-
late benefits. Growth in benefits would be slowed dramati-
cally by tying them to inflation rates instead of wages. The
rate of inflation grows more slowly than wages over a person's
lifetime.
For example, a person retiring at age 65 in 2012 with an
annual income of $35,277 is promised $1,194 in monthly ben-
efits, in 2001 dollars. If the formula is changed, the monthly
benefit would be reduced by 0.9 percent to about $1,183 per
month.
The younger the worker, the more dramatic the cuts. For a
person retiring at age 75 in 2075, the monthly promised ben-
efit of $2,032 would be cut by 45.9 percent to $1,099 a month.
Investments in the personal account would be expected to
make up the difference.
"Drastic benefit cuts and the false promise of private
accounts are recipes for disaster," said House Democratic
leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Republicans keep saying that
Social Security won't be there for today's workers -and if
they get their way, they'll be right. The Republican proposals
put forth so far do not make Social Security stronger. They
make it weaker."
ROSE BOWL
Continued from page 1A
lapse was Michigan's inability to make adjus
ments toward stopping a running quarterback
And this is a problem that reaches much fu
ther back than just a few months.
Going back to 1998 - when Syracuse
Donovan McNabb dominated the Wolverin
defense in Michigan Stadium - Herrmann
squads have struggled when facing a mobil
quarterback. Over the years, the Wolverine
have just never found an answer, failing t
contain players like Iowa's Brad Banks an
Minnesota's Asad Abdul-Khaliq.
This problem erupted in three of Mich
igan's last four games this season again
COURT
Continued from page 1A
But Massie argued that the University is
liable because it failed to take action that
would have allowed Johnson to continue in
the University's graduate music program.
When Johnson played the oboe in Cal-
abria's orchestra, she said Calabria repeat-
edly made inappropriate sexual comments
and advances toward her in rehearsal and in
the Ensembles Library where she worked.
After Johnson filed a complaint, the Uni-
versity retained Calabria for the follow-
ing semester. As a result, Johnson said she
could not continue her education at the Uni-
versity, leading her to withdraw in 1998.
"The University failed to make it pos-
Michigan State, Ohio State and Texas, whose
quarterbacks combined to rush for 462 yards
against the Wolverines. Before Michigan
t- State's Drew Stanton dislocated his shoul-
k. der in the second quarter, he had rushed for
r- 82 yards and a touchdown. Damon Dowdell
added 36 ground yards in the second half.
's Ohio State's Troy Smith had a career day
e against the Wolverine 'D' - on top of
's throwing for 241 yards and two touchdowns,
e Smith broke Michigan's back by rushing for
s 150 yards and a score. But the, coup de grace
o came in the Rose Bowl.
d Although Herrmann had almost a month
following the Smith debacle to prepare his
- defense, the Wolverines looked completely
st overmatched against Longhorn quarterback
sible for Maureen (Johnson) to return to in t
school and continue her studies without colh
fear of being victimized again," Massie of c
said. "In fact, they did absolutely noth- a lo
ing to ensure that she could continue her case
graduate studies and that she and other hav
women would be safe from the profes- M
sor who harassed her. This is obviously case
an inadequate response and one that puts cam
young women on unequal footing. That's ofs
what the trial court found, that's what She
the jury found, and that's what the court tiall
of appeals should have found as well." Sexi
Despite the appellate court's decision, vers
Massie said Johnson's case advanced the fight and
against sexual harassment at the University onc
and on college campuses everywhere. abs
"Maureen's case was a significant step Equ
Vince Young, who launched his 2005 Heisman
campaign by running for 192 yards and four
touchdowns on 21 carries.
Each year, more and more teams incorpo-
rate mobile quarterbacks into their offenses,
and Michigan remains a deer in these teams'
headlights - unable to figure out a way to halt
a chugging signal-caller.
And this inability to adjust may cost Her-
rmann his job. Defending the mobile quarter-
back may not be the defense's only problem,
but this flaw - which really defined the 2004
season - may just be the last straw.
Herrmann coached the nation's No. I defense
in his first season (1997) and wcn the Broyles
Award, as the national assistant coach of the
year. But since that year, Herrmann has failed
he fight to end sexual harassmentoon
ege campuses, which victimizes half
ollege women," Massie said. "We have Con
at more work to do, but through this bein
e and the campaign surrounding it we proj
e made real progress." - ed it
lassie said that as a result of Johnson's reno
e several public forums were held on T
ipus that helped expose the problem of T
sexual harassment at the University. fron
also said Johnson's case was par- a re
y responsible for the formation of the refer
,al Harassment Policy Office, a Uni- repl
ity department that aimed to prevent plan
resolve cases of sexual harassment spok
campus. The department was recently "I
orbed by the Office of Institutional son
ity. cons
to assemble a consistent, top-notch unit com-
parable to an offense that seems to be national-
championship caliber every year (sans 2001).
Michigan has the talent for an effective
defensive squad, and Carr hinted at this in his
post-Rose Bowl fuming.
"We have to play better defense, and that
is something that we have to address," Carr
said. "We've got a lot of outstanding players
that have the ability to do great things and win
championships."
If Carr believes his defensive players are
legit, then it's only natural to infer that he plans
"to address" the man in charge of the players.
This is an unusually strong statement from
Carr, a coach who normally addresses the media
with a slew of generic and innocuous cliches.
But it's not hard to understand his frustration.
Because, at the end of the day, "You score 37
points and it should be enough."
Filice can be reached at
gfilice@umich.edu.
UILDING
tinued from page IA
g used to finance a long list of active construction
ects on campus. These projects and those complet-
n recent years amount to around $1 billion in the
vation and construction of University buildings.
he yet-unnamed building will be at the corner
'hayer Street and Washington Street, across
i Frieze, which is being demolished to build
sidence hall and academic building often
rred to as North Quad. Whileit is partially
acing Frieze, it was not conceived during the
ning for North Quad in October, University
keswoman Julie Peterson said.
t's not really connected to North Quad," Peter-
said. "It's an academic building that's been under
ideration, and in light of the planning by LSA it
makes a lot of sense," she said.
"We're very happy about this. After all, (Frieze) is
kind of an old building," said Gary Beckman, chair of
the Near-Eastern Studies department. "We were mak-
ing do in a lot of ways. We were all surprised when we
heard this building was going to be torn down."
He added that the department faculty is happy that
they will be relocating to only one location.
All three departments teach language as part of their
curriculum and will be close to their sister departments
in the Modern Languages Building, located across the
street, said Diane Brown, spokeswoman for Facilities
and Operations.
"This is a pretty modest building because it won't
contain any major research bases," Brown said of the
new building. "It's essentially an academic building."
Construction will begin in March and is expected to
be completed during the summer of 2006.
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