CAMPAIGN ’96 : Dole Backing Forbes Plan He Once Decried

WASHINGTON —  One reason Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas won Monday night’s Republican Party caucuses in Iowa was that he ran up a large margin among older voters. And one way Dole amassed his large margin was by running television ads accusing rival candidate Steve Forbes of supporting “a radical, untested plan that would end Social Security as we know it.”

But in little-noticed remarks Monday morning, Dole expressed sympathy for the cornerstone of precisely the plan Forbes advocates and that Dole’s ads have attacked: having younger workers “opt out” of the Social Security system.

Forbes has proposed requiring younger workers to divert part of their payroll tax from the Social Security trust fund into private individual retirement accounts. Forbes says that would spur the economy through increased investment and provide a greater return to pay for the retirement costs of today’s young workers.

Appearing at an insurance company in Des Moines on Monday, Dole praised the bipartisan commission that steadied Social Security’s finances in the 1980s, then added: “That doesn’t mean we can’t look at opportunities for the younger people, say below 45 years of age, how they can supplement Social Security or how they might even opt out of Social Security. But it’s not going to be easy.”

Told about the remarks Tuesday, Bill Dal Col, Forbes’ campaign manager said: “Should I get him for a royalty? Bob Dole is once again following Steve Forbes’ lead.”

Aides to Dole noted that he also stressed the importance of protecting the Social Security trust fund. “The comments merely suggest allowance for further study,” a spokesperson said.