Don't Shoot the Idea Before It Gets Off the GroundBy James Hamilton

     U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) may be on to something. His proposal for Universal Savings Accounts in Thursday's Wall Street Journal isn’t new. But before protected account supporters start complaining, as my old boss, former Congressman Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) likes to say, “Let’s not shoot the idea before it gets off the ground.”

     Emanuel worked as an advisor in the Clinton White House. Today, he’s one of the Democratic Party’s top leaders in the House of Representatives. Maybe my diatribe earlier this on the Ds and their minions was a little over-heated. Here’s one Democrat who seems to be sincere.

At least on paper, Emanuel tips his hat to the efforts – failed, of course – by his former boss, President Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush during their administrations to tackle the financial crisis facing Social Security. Emanuel acknowledges, though, that lawmakers need to step back and take a look at the larger picture. And in this, I think he’s right.

     The Illinois congressman introduced legislation last year that makes signing up for savings plans at work automatic. Upon being first being employed, a worker is automatically registered in his or her company’s retirement savings plan. Initial analysis shows this legislation is working, but Emanuel says this is only half the battle: now we need to work to make savings universal.

     The universal savings accounts he describes have a familiar ring to them. They would be modeled on the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) that all federal employees – including members of Congress elected since 1984 – can choose to participate in. For Our Grandchildren’s National Advisory Council Chairman, former Congressman Tim Penny (D-MN), has often compared the protected accounts he envisions to the TSP program.

     Assuredly, the devil is ALWAYS in the details, but Congressman Emanuel’s calls for “fiscal discipline and bipartisanship” sound like the same song many of us have been singing for over a decade. Let's listen to what he has to say.