Harry Reid Quotes
“Privatization” is a buzzword for destroying Social Security.
Privatization is a proposal whereby individuals invest their own money in the Sock and Bond Market in an effort to get a better return than the government Social Security System produces. However, the initial cost is very high and the idea might be good for an individual hose investments pay off, but there could be no coverage for someone who invests poorly, is unlucky or whose investing agency goes bankrupt. There would be a lesser or no safety net which people would be guaranteed as they are with Social Security. In 2006 the George W. Bush administration tried to privatize the Social Security system. They failed in a major defeat for the administration.
Harry Reid, U. S. Congressman & U. S. Senator (Democrat, NV), Speech, Rally Against Social Security Private Accounts, Washington DC, April 26, 2005
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This is one of the rare occasions where the person appointed to lead a major governmental program, publicy trashed the program and told citizens that they would never receive the benefits that they had already paid for. She was a partisan political appointment who had no real credentials, preparation or previous experience and her statement was so overtly political that few took the statement seriously although there were well known problems that Congress could fix as soon as they have the political will to do so. In the 15 years since this statement not a single worker has failed to obtain any benefits to which he/she was entitled. To see why such a statement can never be made with any certainty, see {619986} which explains the essence of Social Security.
This is a classic statement from the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party. Here he not only criticizes the most successful and popular program in American History, but he describes it as a criminal fraud and then claims that Social Security is the biggest threat to our democracy—a bigger threat than Al Qaeda and terrorism, a greater threat than global warming, a greater threat than the housing bubble and the Great Recession. The Tea Party blindness to the effect of these gross exaggerated and obviously false claims is fascinating. He seems totally sincere and yet it is hard for voters to believe that he actually has faith in what he says—although perhaps faith is all he has.
Harry Mason Reid is a retired American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate's Democratic Conference from 2005 to 2017 and was the Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015.
