Beyond the Dome

See if this storyline sounds familiar. Republican proposes carving out part of a social safety net program and shifting the money into savings accounts. Democrats balk. Nothing happens.

Social Security, right? Yes, but it's also the likely future of a piece of John McCain's proposal to overhaul the unemployment insurance system.

In a largely overlooked section of his speech on the economy Thursday , McCain suggested diverting some unemployment insurance taxes into "Lost Earnings Buffer" accounts, which workers would get to keep after retirement if they haven't spent the money by then. The idea, he said, is to give unemployed workers an incentive to find jobs quickly.

Under the traditional unemployment insurance system, "benefits are the same regardless of whether a job is found quickly or slowly. There is no reward for work, or getting to work quickly," McCain said in his speech. Under his plan, traditional unemployment insurance would be a "backstop" in case workers spend their accounts in less than 26 weeks.

The controversy about President Bush's Social Security overhaul plan, of course, was that it was based on a similar idea: shifting some of the taxes into private savings accounts that workers would own. Democrats and liberal groups raised a ruckus, saying such a change would destroy the program, and the idea was quickly shelved.