Feeding Social Insecurities

The "start of a coordinated effort to build public support" to privatize Social Security "and pressure Congress to act" included a Washington DC town hall with the president and six "carefully selected participants." One was a Seattle-area businessman who, after being contacted by the White House, got a call from the conservative lobbying group FreedomWorks, "offering to pay his expenses." FreedomWorks flew in 80 people, allowing Congress to "hear from average Americans, who understand that Social Security is in trouble." In New York, Treasury Secretary John Snow visited "Wall Street securities firms to rally support," while the vice president, the Office of Management and Budget director and the White House Council of Economic Advisers chair are readying Social Security speeches.