Colorado’s newly- elected U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar has come out swinging against President Bush’s plan to privatize social security. The President is expected to detail his plan Wednesday night in his State of the Union Address.

The president wants to allow younger workers to divert some of their Social Security taxes into private stock and bond investment accounts in return for lower guaranteed future benefits.

….Salazar said Bush’s plan would reduce the amount the average Social Security beneficiary in Colorado receives from $10,000 to $7,700 per year. About 650,000 people statewide receive Social Security benefits.

… Salazar said the domestic agenda should focus on fixing the nation’s health care crisis and curtailing the ballooning federal deficit, which he says would grow even worse under Bush’s Social Security plans. The Congressional Budget Office recently projected that this year’s deficit would hit $368 billion, excluding war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Salazar and Democrats argue There is No Crisis. If you want to hear the other side, tune into the President’s State of the Union Address, Wednesday night, 7 p.m., all stations.