This may be news to you, but Bush wants to reinvent the wheel and take
credit for anything that rolls.

Flash: We *already have* a number of federally recognized retirement
schemes, (IRA's, 401K, etc) doing what Bush is propsing to do with
social security.
People should save for their own retirement and assemble some wealth
beyond social security.

Difference is that the current programs do not withdraw money from a
social security system that is tottering as it is.

If a worker is so strapped that he or she cannot afford to put any
money in the bank unless social security impounds are cut by half, that
worker is probably so strapped that the freed up cash will go into a
higher car payment or an extra credit card balance instead of a
long-range strategy like retirement.