Angie Craig: “I believe it has worked. What I talked about today is who pays for it because what the Senator from North Dakota is…”

“I believe it has worked. What I talked about today is who pays for it because what the Senator from North Dakota is suggesting, I think--and I agree with him, the tremendous benefit that has come, but he has also seen the doubling and the quadrupling of taxes on the working people to pay for that benefit. I suggest this to the Senator from North Dakota. I think it is important. CBO has just scored the Gore transfers within his plan. They have suggested those transfers are around $40 trillion over the next 54 years. If that is true, 40 trillion bucks would have to flow out of other sources, such as the general fund, because we know the Vice President is not talking about a tax increase. The question is, How do you handle it? Do you create higher Government debt? Do you do direct investments? The Senate voted 99-0 against Government investments. So the legitimate question in this debate is not whether Social Security has successfully benefitted current and past retirees. The Senator from North Dakota and I just flat agree that it has. I am talking about is the growing tax burden on our children.”