Bush says 'I'm sorry' economic crisis is occurring

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President George W. Bush expressed regret Monday that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and shrinking retirement accounts and said he will support more government intervention if needed to ease the recession. "I'm sorry it's happening, of course," Bush said in a wide-ranging interview with ABC's "World News," which was airing Monday. "Obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we're in. And if we need to be in more, we will." The retirement account known as 401(k) is a government-approved system that allows workers to save before-tax dollars in stock or other accounts, with tax to be paid only after retirement when the retiree can expect his income to be smaller and thus be taxed at a lower rate under the US progressive income tax system.