Stop Making Sense

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Unpopular in the polls, hemorrhaging political support by the day and lampooned in yesterday's Sunday comics, the Bush plan to privatize Social Security now hangs by a thin thread of support from the Wall Street investment firms that stand to profit most. "Those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to that has been promised," Bush said, trying to explain the privatization plan. "Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled." This Wednesday, the Securities Industry Association (SIA) will be the target of a demonstration (see On The Line) following up on the massive March 31 rally at Charles Schwab. "The members of the SIA are the main proponents of privatizing Social Security," says the AFL-CIO's Mike Cavanaugh, "confronting them at their board meeting on Wednesday will show them they've got nowhere left to hide."