NCPA: Bush Outlines Vision for Ownership Society; NCPA Applauds Bush for Proposing Increased Personal Control of Health; Retirement 1/20/2004
From: Richard Walker or Sean Tuffnell, 800-859-1154, both for National Center for Policy Analysis, email: rwalker@ncpa.org; WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 -- In his annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress tonight, President Bush detailed several domestic policy proposals on issues ranging from health care to retirement security. Experts from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) applauded the speech for outlining a broad vision that potentially will "reshape the relationship of people with the economy." "While FDR had his 'New Deal' and LBJ had the 'Great Society', it is becoming increasingly clear President Bush wants to create an 'Ownership Society,'" said John C. Goodman, president of the NCPA. "From health care accounts to personal retirement accounts for Social Security, the goal appears to be to move people from being dependent on the state to owners of their own security. This is good news for everyone." Goodman provided some thoughts on a few highlights of the speech: --- On Health Savings Accounts: "Health Savings Accounts have the potential to revolutionize our health care system. The concept is not conservative or liberal. It's an empowerment idea. It should appeal to liberals who want an alternative to HMO rationing. It should appeal to conservatives who want an alternative to government rationing. It should appeal to every individual who suspects that impersonal bureaucracies care less about us than we care about ourselves." On Health Tax Credits: "For too long, Washington, D.C., has ignored the way in which federal tax policy has been contributing to our health care problems. The tax system has shaped and molded our health system. In a very real sense, health reform is tax reform. The tax law penalizes people who purchase their own insurance. If the tax law treated employer-sponsored plans and self-insurance the same, we would see an immediate, sharp reduction in the uninsured population." On Personal Retirement Accounts for Social Security: "President Bush has shown the courage to address one of the single most important issues for our economic security, by giving all workers a stake in the future of our economy and the ability to increase their retirement savings and establish assets that can be passed on to their heirs." On Retirement Savings Accounts: "RSAs will benefit Americans at all income levels, but they are especially beneficial for low- and moderate-income families. They will extend the benefits of Roth IRAs, in which deposits are made with after-tax dollars, so withdrawals are tax-free." ------ The NCPA is an internationally known nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute with offices in Dallas and Washington, D. C., that advocates private solutions to public policy problems. We depend on the contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations that share our mission. The NCPA accepts no government grants. |