The Republicans and the Democrats are battling it out over Social Security. While everyone agrees Social Security must be reformed, Democrats deny there is a crisis, as alleged by President George W. Bush.

The President’s Pitch
President Bush has said that Social Security faces a $10 trillion unfunded obligation to beneficiaries. Trustees of the Social Security program have projected that by 2018 the program will owe more in annual benefits than the revenues generated by the payroll tax. They also say the program will be bankrupt by 2042.

In the 1950s, there were about sixteen workers paying for every Social Security beneficiary. Today there are about three, and eventually there will only be two workers per beneficiary, according to the President.
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In March 2003, President George W. Bush proposed a new framework to modernize and improve Medicare to Congress. Eight months later, on December 8, President Bush signed the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

Designed to help seniors pay prescription drug bills, the president hailed his reforms, but a growing number of critics are finding fault with the new benefit. The basic question remains: will the Bush Administration drug benefit help seniors pay for their medicine?

Medicare is a federal government program that provides health insurance for seniors aged 65 and above, as well as people with disabilities and those with permanent kidney failure. The original Medicare plan only covers prescription drugs in a few cases, like certain cancer medicines. Read more »