Paul Ryan: “I thank the gentleman. Also, there are some fiscal issues that we need to talk about. There are some real misnomers out…”

“I thank the gentleman. Also, there are some fiscal issues that we need to talk about. There are some real misnomers out in the press. The trustees of Social Security have told us that the long-term debt, the unfunded debt we would owe to Social Security, that we would have to put aside today to keep it going into the future, is $11.1 trillion. Add to that the $1.7 trillion in unfunded IOUs we have in the Social Security trust fund, and it is not an asset, it is a debt, that is over $12 trillion we are short of money we would need to keep Social Security going at the current level where my kids get a negative 1 percent rate of return. If we come up with a plan to save the system that has a personal retirement account as a part of it, and any borrowing or cost associated with transitioning from the current system over to a saved system, that cost is not new debt. Many people say that the Bush plan costs $2 trillion. Well, that is not true; but, nevertheless, because there are not enough specifics to even analyze that plan, it is a framework, but let us take that at face value. The Bush plan costs $2 trillion to have personal retirement accounts that are voluntary. To bring the system into permanent solvency, $2 trillion wipes out that $12 trillion in debt.…”