Come explain your plan to Utah, Bush

While it remainsto be seen whether President Bush will include any Utah cities in his 60-cities-in-60-days coast-to-coast Social Security barnstorming tour — the White House said this week that the itinerary for the president's much-publicized trip, like his Social Security privatization plan, is something of a work in progress — it certainly seems like Utah should be included.

What other state in the union has as much to gain, and lose, on a per capita basis than a place that has historically hung onto its older folks longer than the norm while at the same time reproducing more new folks than the norm?

The Utah culture has always been Social Security's problem — too many people living too long — as well as its solution — plenty of new workers ready and willing to pay those FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes.

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The problem is, America overall is getting a lot older without getting a lot younger. As economist Lawrence Kotlikoff said recently on CBS News, "In 30 years, the entire country is going to be older than Florida is today."

Think of it: By 2035, people everywhere will be driving in the slow lane with their hands at 10 and 2.

Hence, the hand-wringing over a Social Security bank account that, according to the experts, will hit the break-even point by 2042. After that, demand will exceed supply — retirees will be looking in their mailboxes for monthly checks totaling more money than the Social Security account will have the ability to pay.

In the shorter term, the experts say that we only have until 2018 — just 13 years — until outgo exceeds income, meaning the amount of money brought in by FICA taxes will be less than FICA payments.

President Bush's brainstorm is to allow younger workers — anyone 55 and under — to start handling a portion of their FICA taxes themselves. By putting their retirement fund contributions in personal investment accounts — stocks, bonds, etc. — Americans can take charge of their own financial destiny.

During his 60-day tour, scheduled to conclude on May 1, he will attempt to sell that to America.

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I'm no financial genius — and I can give you a list of banks, credit-card companies and penny stock brokers who will attest to this — so I'm in no position to say if Bush's plan is a good one or not.

But I do find it interesting, if not a bit alarming, that the president is going back to what caused all the trouble in the first place.