Dems Lieberman/Bayh/Carper working w/Snow-but SSpriv acct carveout unlikel

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-centrists5jan05.story

Social Security Battle Likely
In a possible setback to White House efforts, two Democratic centrist groups plan to take a stand against individual investment accounts.
By Ronald Brownstein
Times Staff Writer

January 5, 2005

WASHINGTON — Two groups of prominent Democratic centrists plan to oppose the centerpiece of President Bush's proposal to restructure Social Security, potentially dimming administration hopes of building bipartisan support for its top domestic priority.<snip>

Instead, Democrats have generally echoed former President Clinton in endorsing add-on investment accounts that would provide workers with government subsidies to invest for retirement, but not divert — or carve out — existing payroll tax revenue for that purpose.

That's the alternative the leadership council and the Third Way group are likely to propose. The idea has almost no support among Republicans, who argue that it does not address Social Security's long-term funding problems and creates an expensive entitlement in the form of subsidized retirement savings.<snip>

Bayh said he would consider a private account plan only if it could "maintain the safety net, maintain progressivity and protect the taxpayers ."<snip>

Graham, the South Carolina Republican, hopes to attract support from Democratic moderates through his plan to pay for individual accounts partly by imposing Social Security taxes on earnings up to $200,000 a year, compared with $90,000 now. That would require much less borrowing than most private account plans. <snip>