ProfNet Wire: Government & Law for 1-5-05

ROUND-UP: SOCIAL SECURITY

Following are experts who can discuss Social Security, in light of President Bush's renewed call for legislation that would let workers create private retirement accounts within the government-run program:

**1. JASON TAYLOR, faculty economist and assistant professor at CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: “The current Social Security system is not a good deal for most Americans, since they filter 12.4 percent of their pay into the system to get a 2 percent rate of return on their investment. Those who live shorter life spans, including lower-income Americans (most notably African- Americans), receive negative returns. Americans could do better if they were able to invest 12.4 percent of their paychecks into a diversified portfolio of bonds, real estate, precious metals and mutual funds. This would help end the current bias against socioeconomic groups that live shorter life spans."

**2. SYLVESTER SCHIEBER, director of research and information at WATSON WYATT WORLDWIDE and co-author of "The Real Deal: The History and Future of Social Security," can comment on proposals to revamp the Social Security system: "Now is the time to seriously consider reforming the system. Further delay in taking up this issue puts us at risk of having the sort of experience that Japan and Germany are going through, namely having to cut benefits not only for future retirees, but for current retirees. The system is underfunded. Part of the solution has to be in finding added financing."

**3. DR. TIM BLESSING, director of the Penn State Presidential Performance Survey at ALVERNIA COLLEGE in Reading, Pa. (formerly of Penn State): "If you listen very carefully to what President Bush is saying, it appears that he is trying to ease us out of a system that Franklin D. Roosevelt never intended to become the mammoth it has. The story about Republicans always objecting to Social Security is simplistic -- as is the idea that this was a great crusade by the Democrats. The original Social Security plan was not intended to do what we now have it doing. It might be better put that most Republicans never felt comfortable with the whole idea, but only a handful of national Republican leaders have ever wanted to sink it."

**4. MATT MOORE, senior policy analyst for the NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS: "Social Security reform is at the top of President Bush’s agenda -- and with good reason. In the next decade, two monumental shifts will occur -- 77 million baby boomers will start drawing benefits and stop paying taxes, and Social Security and Medicare will claim an increasing share of federal income tax revenues, reaching almost 30 percent by 2020 and more than 50 percent by 2030. To avoid this unpleasant and unsustainable future, we must move quickly to a funded system, under which each generation pays its own way. The transition to a new system will not be easy, but each year we delay increases the cost of making it.”

**5. JOHN C. GOODMAN, president of the NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS (NCPA): "Social Security reform is stuck in a tug of war between those that want to do nothing and those that believe we can have a free lunch. We have a plan that recognizes Social Security must be reformed and that tough choices will have to be made in order to do it. The NCPA plan, developed in part by Senior Fellow and Social Security Trustee Thomas Saving, is the only reform plan so far that is fully paid for and does not require borrowed money, maintains the progressivity of the current system and replaces today’s pay-as- you-go system with a fully funded system after one generation."

**6. RAMON CASTELLBLANCH, Ph.D., assistant professor of health education at SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY, is an expert in U.S. health and prescription drug policies: "Private accounts would be a disaster for Social Security -- they would drain off money from Social Security benefits just when baby boomers need them. Further, they would expose to the uncertainties of the market the retirement security of future generations. The government should be reducing its deficits to cover its Social Security promises. It could best do this by reversing the policies of the past four years that created the deficits -- excessive military spending increases and tax cuts for the rich."

**7. JAMES HOOPES, Murata Professor of Business Ethics at BABSON COLLEGE: "President Bush wants to fix the Social Security 'crisis' through privatization by having employees invest part of their current payroll taxes in investment accounts to fund their future retirement. Since those current payroll taxes are needed to fund benefits to today’s retirees, the Bush administration has now admitted a fact that it glossed over during the campaign. The president’s plan will require borrowing trillions now to solve a 'crisis' that will not even begin to occur for another half century. The Social Security Trust Fund is solvent until at least the 2050s. Even then, to remain in the black, Social Security needs a revenue boost equal only to about a fourth of what we’re currently spending in Iraq."

**8. BRAD THOMPSON, vice president of equities and resident macroeconomist at FROST NATIONAL BANK in San Antonio, is available for comment on Social Security: "I favor private accounts, but with appropriate controls (e.g., which assets are permissible), and I favor mandated savings rather than payroll taxes to fund these accounts. I think a consumption tax should supplement this plan to correct the degree of unfunded liability with respect to Social Security and Medicaid. I dispute that privatization would be a windfall for Wall Street because of low costs versus fees margins, and I wonder if people will use private accounts to postpone funding IRAs."

**9. ERIC KINGSON, professor of social work at SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: "The privatization proposals the president is proposing are neither needed nor desirable. At the end of the day, they would place many Americans -- especially the young, women, African-Americans and Hispanics -- at greater risk in an already risky economy. And they would add greatly to the federal government's projected deficits for many years. In addition, privatizing Social Security does not in any way address the system's financing problem. In fact, it makes the financing problem far more difficult to address. We don't have to destroy Social Security to save it. A combination of reforms -- none of them pain-free -- can address the problems."

**10. RUSS ROBERTS, professor of economics and J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center at GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: "Social Security can be fixed with some adjustments within the current system, and the fears about privatization are greatly exaggerated. The real reason to favor or oppose privatization is philosophical, not financial. Who should be responsible for my retirement? Should it be me or the government? This is where the real political battle will be waged. There will be lots of sound and fury about rates of return, trust funds, tax rates and savings rates. But, ultimately, the philosophical issue will come into play."

**11. PAUL KRUGMAN, author, Op-Ed columnist for the NEW YORK TIMES and professor at PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: "Privatizing Social Security with personal investment accounts won't do anything to strengthen the system's finances. If anything, it will make things worse. Privatization would begin by diverting payroll taxes, which pay for current Social Security benefits, into personal investment accounts. The government, already deep in deficit, would have to borrow to make up the shortfall. International experience has proven that privatization dissipates a large fraction of worker's contributions on fees to investment companies. It leaves many retirees in poverty."

**12. ANN OWEN, associate professor of economics at HAMILTON COLLEGE and former Federal Reserve economist, can comment on President Bush's intention to reform Social Security: "We need to consider that our current system serves two purposes: It is a forced savings plan and a method for redistributing income to reduce poverty among the elderly. Privatizing the system enables us to own money we have paid into the system. Thus, the goal of forced savings is emphasized, and the redistribution aspect is reduced. Reforms of this nature must be made with our eyes open. Among the questions to consider in the reform debate are: What will we do if individuals make bad investment decisions and have insufficient retirement funds? Are we willing to accept increased rates of poverty among the elderly? How might other aspects of the social safety net change in response?"

**13. RON O'HANLEY, vice chairman and head of institutional asset management at MELLON FINANCIAL CORP., commented recently on a national radio show that talk of "privatizing" Social Security is a real misnomer: "The phrase confuses the real goals of the Bush administration, those being to offer a measure of stock market-based returns and/or individual choice. But you can achieve the former without ever having to offer the latter. And the latter -- in the form of individual savings accounts -- will carry a hefty burden both in terms of educating taxpayers in 'Investing 101' and the costs to administer millions of these relatively small accounts."

**14. LAURA KATZ OLSON, professor of political science at LEHIGH UNIVERSITY and author of five books on aging: "The latest effort to 'reform' Social Security is actually a decades-long effort to undermine and ultimately dismantle it. Some politicians, aided by the mass media, created a crisis mentality over Social Security through statistics and numbers. The underlying message has been: We must solve these problems by privatizing the program. The country needs to view our vulnerable elders as a collective responsibility and make a national commitment to strengthen the safety net, not eliminate it."

**15. DEBRA SPEYER, managing partner at SPEYER LAW, is a nationally recognized attorney and expert on investor and elder law and can offer a unique insight on the dangers of Bush’s privatization system: “Everyone loses with Bush’s Social Security proposal. The new system is meant to prepare workers for retirement, but leaves retirees under our current system to fend for themselves. Workers could ultimately lose lots of money, since the stock market doesn’t guarantee success. Although it seems we should praise the no- new-taxes promise, the proposal will only increase the already large debt -- a disaster not only for our current economy, but one even more serious for future generations.”

**16. ALAN LEVENSON, chief economist at T. ROWE PRICE, can comment on options for fixing the Social Security problem and also the impact of deficit in the Social Security Trust Fund.

ROUND-UP: AIRPORT PATDOWNS

Following are experts who can discuss airport patdowns. Many female passengers feel the thorough screenings given by airport security go too far -- some have stopped flying altogether. These searches are a result of a new government directive that airport screeners carry out more frequent, and more thorough, searches for explosives:

**1. STEPHEN J. MCHALE, partner at PATTON BOGGS LLP and former deputy administrator of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), played a key role in the federalization of aviation security after the Sept. 11 attacks and helped merge TSA into the new Department of Homeland Security: "We all want to be safe, so we should all want screeners to be as thorough as they need to be to resolve any suspected threat. If they observe carefully, however, and are allowed to use common sense, sexually intrusive searches should be rare, and new technology coming on line should make them even rarer."

**2. MARK BUNIM, risk management expert at the law firm BRYAN CAVE, LLP.: "Government subcontractors are taking huge risks by not properly training their employees when it comes to respecting the privacy and dignity of citizens. Failure by government contractors to administer better training could expose them to civil-rights lawsuits ranging from privacy to sexual harassment." Bunim is available to discuss how airline management should set up programs to avoid possible lawsuits. He can also address what kinds of liability insurance a government contractor should carry to protect them from potential lawsuits.

**3. ROBERT L SICILIANO, personal security expert for SAFETRAVELSECURITY.COM: "Perception is everything. For example, a man-to-woman handshake, depending on the eye contact associated with it, can be considered flirting. Therefore, considering the whole 'gay vs. straight-is he/she sexually harassing me- sexually uptight society,' as long as screeners conduct physical contact of any nature with travelers, there will always be a percentage of traveler who will perceive this contact as being sexually intrusive."

**4. KENNETH QUINN, co-chair of the aviation and aerospace practice group at PILLSBURY WINTHROP, LLP., former chief counsel with the Federal Aviation Administration and former counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, is available to comment on a variety of transportation security issues, including new government regulations regarding airport patdowns. Quinn represents aerospace companies, airports and travel agents, and well as a host of airline carriers and even local governments. He recently led a series of high-level professional seminars on transportation security.

ROUND-UP: HOMELAND SECURITY (continued)

We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID =7018

**1. RAY OLESON is the CEO of SI INTERNATIONAL (Nasdaq: SINT), a provider of information technology and network solutions, primarily to the United States federal government. SI provides information technology and network solutions in eight practice areas to supplement its clients needs in defense transformation, homeland defense, mission critical outsourcing and federal information technology modernization. The company provides its services primarily to the United States Air Force Space Command, United States Army, the Department of State, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security), as well as the intelligence community.

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**1. GOVERNMENT: WHISTLEBLOWERS HAVE PREDICTABLE FATES. JOYCE ROTHSCHILD, Ph.D., professor of public and international affairs at VIRGINIA TECH, is available to speak with reporters about the characteristics and likely fates of whistleblowers, such as the two who alerted authorities about ethical concerns at Fannie Mae and the FDA: "My research has shown that whistleblowers are people for whom integrity is paramount. Generally, they present their concerns internally to their organization, but if they perceive that the hierarchy is inept or complacent, the whistleblowers will make their case public. The result of whistleblowing is predictable. Usually, the person loses his or her job, typically finding that it is difficult or impossible to locate another. Often, the organization will try to discredit the whistleblower. Whistleblowers experience high levels of stress as families, friends and co- workers wonder if the actions are worthwhile."

**2. IMMIGRATION: PRESIDENT SIGNS RENEWAL TO STEM PHYSICIAN SHORTAGES. ROBERT S. WHITEHILL, Esq., chair of the immigration group at FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP: "President Bush has signed legislation renewing and modifying a program enabling hospitals/medical practices to sponsor foreign-born, U.S.-trained physicians for home-presence waivers. Known as Conrad 30, it allows these physicians to continue practicing in medically underserved regions of the U.S. and gain the right to stay as permanent residents rather than going home at the conclusion of their training. The president’s action stems a concern that the program would not be renewed. Physicians must continue to agree to work for three years in medically underserved areas in H-1B status, but will be exempt from the H-1B cap."

**3. IMMIGRATION: FIGHTING FOREIGN STUDENT VISA LAWS. CYRUS REED, assistant provost for international education at BALL STATE UNIVERSITY and chairman of DESTINATION INDIANA, is fighting an intelligence-reform bill provision that hinders more foreign students and scholars from obtaining visas: "To require an interview for each visa application is redundant, Given that the interview lasts about 90 seconds. If consular officers were permitted to exempt some individuals from interviews, they could conduct more thorough ones with those who needed to be interviewed. During a recent Congressional hearing, nearly every aspect of international student visas was discussed with members of DI. The group remains positive that the right changes will be made."

**4. LAW: HEALTHSOUTH'S SCRUSHY TRIAL TO BE 'CLASH OF THE TITANS.' ROSS ALBERT, attorney with MORRIS, MANNING & MARTIN, LLP and former SEC attorney and assistant federal prosecutor, can discuss HealthSouth's Scrushy trial: “What I find particularly interesting here is the way Scrushy has mounted an extremely aggressive pre-trial public defense that seems to have taken specific pages from the O.J. Simpson and Martha Stewart defense playbooks, among others. Scrushy's trial promises to be very interesting -- a veritable ‘Clash of the Titans’ so to speak.”

**5. LAW: NEW MENTAL HEALTH LAW CAN HELP SAVE LIVES. MARY T. ZDANOWICZ, Esq., executive director of the TREATMENT ADVOCACY CENTER: "As 2005 begins, courts in Florida and Michigan now have a powerful new tool to aid in helping people with untreated severe mental illnesses who are too ill to make rational treatment decisions. The passage of these assisted outpatient treatment laws means that 42 states now see the import of intervention to protect people who are in a mental health crisis. The laws are written with strong protections, have survived many court challenges and are proven to save lives. Only eight remaining states do not allow for AOT: Connecticut, Maine, Marlyand, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and Tennessee."

**6. LAW: IS IT TIME TO RETOOL PATENT PRACTICES? DAN VENGLARIK, attorney of intellectual property at DAVIS MUNCK, PC, says the recent hike in the U.S. Patent Office's fee structure should prompt companies to rethink longtime patent-prosecution practices: "Until now, patent attorneys have routinely drafted up to 100 or more excess -- and frequently marginal -- claims as part of a single patent application. The new rates, increasing costs by as much as 260 percent in some cases, make a compelling fiscal argument for streamlining patent applications to sharpen the focus on the core argument for patentability."

**7. WORLD AFFAIRS: TURKEY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION. DENNIS SANDOLE, professor of conflict resolution at GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: "A decision to allow Turkey -- a Muslim, but secular, country and NATO member -- to begin negotiations for inclusion in the European Union will have a significant impact on the growing chasm between the Islamic and Western worlds. Allowing Turkey’s membership in the EU will have a far more positive impact on derailing the runaway clash of civilizations and undermining the motivation of Jihads to continue their campaign against the West than the U.S.–led war on global terrorism, which, in many ways, has actually exacerbated the factors making for global terrorism."