While President Bush continues to stump across the country to sell his plan to privatize Social Security, members of Utah's unions heard a different message last week.

At a town hall meeting hosted by state union leaders, union members heard warnings from activists for the rights of the disabled, advocates for senior citizens and fellow union workers that Bush's plans for Social Security could significantly hurt lower-income retirees and disabled people. They also cautioned that younger workers — a core group of support for the president — would be hurt by privatized Social Security because one day they could be those lower-income retirees or, in the case of a bad accident, disabled.

"Privatization would take the security out of Social Security," said LeeAnn Karlson, vice president for local 7704 of the Communications Workers of America.

Robert Ence, executive director of the Utah chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons, said that the push for privatized accounts is wrong because it casts Social Security in the wrong light.

"A lot of criticism is because people equate this social insurance program with a savings plan," Ence said. "It's not, and criticizing it for that reason is like buying a car and criticizing it because it cannot fly."

Ence also said that Bush's justification to "fix" Social Security — that the program will be "broke" by 2018 — is inaccurate because, in reality, the program will not technically run out of its reserve until 2042. Even then, people will still receive 74 percent of their benefits.

"There is no crisis in Social Security," he said. "There is a problem and some cash flow issues, but it is not going broke tomorrow."

Ruby Hamell, a retired school teacher, said that the groups who benefit the most from Social Security could be the hardest hit by privatized accounts if the system loses large amounts of money in the stock market. Without the program, there would be many retirees, widows and disabled people who would not be able to afford basic living expenses.

"There are a lot of people who would be impacted greatly by privatization," she said. "Social Security is a safety net which keeps them out of poverty."

The meeting, which was attended by approximately 40 people, was the first in what union leaders, activists and Democrats hope is a series of meetings and rallies to fight the Bush plan.

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