The White House yesterday set out to defend its social security proposals, as President George W. Bush's job approval ratings this week fell to their lowest level yet barely 100 days into his second term.
At a news conference on Thursday, the president announced for the first time that he favoured means-testing for the scheme so as to reduce future benefits for middle- and upper-income workers while preserving them for the poor. His spokesman yesterday said a defeat of the president's proposal would guarantee that future benefit cuts fall hardest on poorer workers.
Mr Bush's difficulties on Social Security reform are among several setbacks in the six months since he was re-elected that have pushed his approval ratings below 50 per cent. The administration's choice for US ambassador to the United Nations could be rejected; there is mounting evidence that the economy is slowing and, after an election last year that attested to the efficiency of the Republican political machine, the party has been hit by conflicts over the confirmation of conservative judges.
Mr Bush's proposal on means-testing, aimed at jump-starting stalled congressional efforts to reform Social Security, has shifted the terms of the political debate. But it appeared yesterday to have done nothing to lessen Democratic opposition or improve prospects for the passage of legislation.
Mr Bush, who has been criticised by Democrats for tax cuts that largely favoured the wealthiest Americans, has now turned the tables by positioning himself as the defender of pension benefits for the poorest workers. Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, charged yesterday that "the do-nothing approach of Democratic leaders is a guaranteed cut in benefits for all".
Mr Bush, speaking in Virginia yesterday, warned: "Those who block meaningful reform are going to be held to account at the polls."
But after two months of focusing largely on plans to boost rates of return by allowing younger workers to invest in private accounts, Mr Bush yesterday found himself in the awkward position of defending deep cuts in benefits as the only way to preserve the scheme.
The president has ruled out any increase in payroll tax rates to cover the projected shortfall.
Max Baucus, a Democrat on the Senate finance committee who has frequently supported Mr Bush, said the president's plan "would mean additional cuts for Americans and that's just not right".
Robert Pozen, an economist whose plan for means-testing of Social Security has now been endorsed in general terms by Mr Bush, told a Senate hearing this week that restoring the long-term solvency of the scheme "is the 'spinach' that needs to be eaten before we get to the 'dessert' of personal accounts".
But Peter Orszag, an economist who opposes private accounts, said the proposal is like "trying to get your kid to eat the spinach by offering a turnip for dessert. It is not proving to be the sweetener that everyone is suggesting it would be."
