LAT: Some Find Strong Pulse in Social Security

[DeepModem Mom]

Some Find Strong Pulse in Social Security

By Joel Havemann, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — Even before settling on a proposal to privatize part of Social Security, President Bush is mounting an aggressive campaign to convince the public of something that many Democrats and economists say is mistaken: that the massive government retirement system is hurtling toward disaster.

Three times in the past week, Bush has created or used public relations events to promote his view that Social Security is facing a dire financial threat and needs major repairs. Most recently, Bush said in his Saturday radio address that "the system is headed towards bankruptcy down the road. If we do not act soon, Social Security will not be there for our children and grandchildren."...

***

Bush, as one of the legacies of his presidency, wants workers to be able to shift some of their Social Security taxes into privately owned accounts, which they would invest in the stock or bond markets. In this vision, the government could pare back the benefits promised under Social Security, shoring up the finances of the program, because the return on the investments in the private accounts would help workers support a comfortable retirement.

But Bush's critics say that he is overstating the financial problems so that the public will more readily accept the "radical" cure of private accounts.

Some critics worry that they are running second in the public relations race. Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, warns of "an incredible misunderstanding of the basic problem. The public thinks the program will disappear in 10 to 20 years."...


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-social12dec12,0,4735026.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Seldona]

1. This is a travesty.

And *Bush will be long gone when all those provate accounts disappear in the next crash.

And the beneficiares will be sitting on an island someplace laughing their asses off and braggin how cheap *Bush was to buy.

I used to have alot of faith that people would wake up and see through this kind of bs.

Well no more.

*sigh

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Lakoff has a point

you and I need to frame the debate in ways that will defeat bush

When tehy say... SS reform, call it was it is... SS PRIVATIZATION and ask people how can they seat idly while the fund is raided by the folks behind Enron... or at least their friends

[otohara]

17. Bush Will Be Gone - So Like Iraq, He Doesn't Care

one of the things he said in Bob Woodward's book about his legacy and Iraq, was "I don't know, I'll be dead". He doesn't give a shit about the future.

[sandnsea]

2. FDR was a communist

We've got to get all the quotes from back in the day and start hammering away that the Republicans thought FDR was a communist and have been trying to get rid of all his programs from the very beginning. That's the only way to combat these idiots, people have to know the kind of extremists they really are.

[LynnTheDem]

3. #1. bush did his CHICKEN LITTLE act in 1978; he was WRONG then.

And he's WRONG now.

In 1978 bush said SS must be privatized or it would be BANKRUPT WITHIN 10 YEARS.

http://www.bushfiles.com/bushfiles/midland.html

bush was ABSOLUTELY AND PROVABLY WRONG in 1978...and he is ABSOLUTELY AND PROVABLY WRONG now.

#2. SS was put in place to provide SECURITY after the STOCK MARKET CRASH of 1929.

-Investing in stock markets is NOT SECURITY; it's a GAMBLE.

-bush wants to take away your SECURITY and put it BACK into what caused SS to come about in the first place; the GAMBLE of the stock market.

#3. The SS gap in 2044 IS LESS than what we're paying now for invading & occupying Iraq.

#4. But instead of just rescinding tax cuts for the top 1% of Americans, which would more than fund SS well into the 22nd century, bush wants to put us $3 TRILLION more into debt, which OUR KIDS and our GRANDKIDS and THEIR kids & grandkids will be paying for.

DUHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We'll see just how deeply ignorant & stupid rightwingnuts REALLY are, because for SHEER STUPIDITY, this bushit would be damn hard to beat.

[Florida_Geek]

5. LynnTheDem

Have you email a LTTE of that. :) :) :)

[LynnTheDem]

6. US Stenomedia refuses to show facts of bush's LIES.

I emailed it to all the blogs I know, and to a few of the US Stenomedia. And I don't expect a single one to bother with it at all.

The rightwingnut meme is "bush never lies". The FACT that in FACT bush is one of the biggest liars on this planet is of no interest to the US Stenomedia.

"I continued to fly with my unit for several more years"

LIE.

bush was permanently grounded 18 months after receiving his pilot's license & never flew again.

"There is no doubt"...LIE. "We know for a fact"...LIE. "I don't know Ken Lay"...LIE. "We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in."...LIE.

bush's lie about SS is just one more bush lie in a very very very long line of bush lies. It's what bush is....and the US Stenomedia doesn't care.

[oscar111]

7. "Non-contributory" pension ss? N Zealand had it first

they brag of having it first.. pls tell me what it is?

PS US wealth is

105 Trillion.

bottom line,

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/accessible/l5.htm

30K per family in retirement , 72 million families... do the math pls.

[LynnTheDem]

9. The math = bush is LYING his ass off, per norm

The math = the 19% gap in SS in 2044 is LESS than what we're paying now to invade & occupy Iraq.

The math = bush's total idiocy in wanting to go into $3 trillion (or more, says the WH) debt NOW so we don't have to face that 19% debt in 2044.

The math = SECURITY does not equal STOCK MARKET INVESTING.

The math = bush is a lying idiot, and ANYONE who falls for this bullshit he's AGAIN spouting -like he spouted in 1978 that SS would be bankrupt by 1988 - is an idiot.

[impeach the gop]

8. Nip in in the bud

Time to man battle stations and put the heat on the
congress critters ASAP.

We don't even want this fool screwing us out of our
golden years too!

Damn enough with this shit!

SCREAM BLOODY MURDER on this folks. He's done messed
with the wrong generation. Time to neuter his high horse
before it's too late

[FreeStateDemocrat]

10. STAND UP AND FIGHT!

Why isn’t the DNC and the democratic leadership in congress mounting an “aggressive campaign” to counter the lies. If the Democratic Party can not oppose this devastation of retirement security for the working class it will be ignored as a viable national party. This is an issue that will resonate with a majority of American voters since it imperils their basic economic well being and could be used as an effective issue in the 2006 elections but the party has to get the message to the people. I have no confidence in the Democratic Party anymore as being effective in using the media or the political tools available to effectively represent the critical issues that are facing working class Americans. I smell the worst sell-out in the history of our party. Where is the indignation and accusatory statements the will garner airtime? Where is the articulate and charismatic leadership so desperately needed in our thirty-second sound bite mass media age? The Democratic Party has already started to loss this war without firing a meaningful shot. I am disillusioned by the pathetic efforts of our leadership in representing the interests of the working class majority. If the party does not spend all the resources and political capital available in drawing the line at this egregious overstepping by a greedy minority voters will look for a third party alternative in the future. The party had better go down fighting now or it will become irrelevant as an effective political entity.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. Excellent post, FSD -- Welcome to DU, and I hope our party...

heeds your words.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

13. Thanks for the welcome

I became of this site from references on the Kerry blog. Props to all the witty personal defilements of the Idiot. The sarcasm is true entertainment, there are some truly vindictive and brutally honest democrats on this board. I appreciate DU as a great source for both relevant news stories and excellent analysis with a divergent perspective from msm (I’m being enlightened).

[lawladyprof]

12. Getting the word out directly to people. Something we can do + question

My paper has an anonymous call/send in comments section.

I've suggested before that DU'ers find a paper (doesn't have to be where you live) that has this feature (this may be a feature in small town papers only) and start getting our arguments out in that forum. I send in three or four a week and one a week usually gets in.

Here's three in Georgia to get you started.

http://www.moultrieobserver.com/contactus/rantrave.htm
http://www.tiftongazette.com/contactus/rantrave.htm http://www.timesenterprise.com/contactus/rantrave.htm

And, of course, you can check to see if yours got in. Don't send the same message or even about the same topic to each one. Send about different subjects (progressive arguments, conservative/administration inconsistencies, anyone?). If you give an address for a similar feature in a newspaper in your area, I'll send messages to them too.

I read the account of the 1978 comment. Can someone refresh my recollection about the circumstances so I can compose the comment I am going to send in to the paper?

[nodictators]

14. Paul Krugman of the NYT has the scoop on Bush's scam

His latest article is a "Must Read."

Borrow, Speculate and Hope

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: December 10, 2004

---snip---
We can argue at length about whether the high stock returns such schemes assume are realistic (they aren't), but let's cut to the chase: in essence, such schemes involve having the government borrow heavily and put the money in the stock market. That's because the government would, in effect, confiscate workers' gains in their personal accounts by cutting those workers' benefits.

Once you realize that privatization really means government borrowing to speculate on stocks, it doesn't sound too responsible, does it? But the details make it considerably worse.

---much more---

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/10/opinion/10krugman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugman

[heidler1]

15. * is the WMD for Social Security as we know it.

[talk hard]

16. poor Republicans are god's dumbest creatures.

Putting any confidence in this administration is done at one's own peril. After the enronesque implosions, nobody in their right mind would want to invest a dime in the stock market. "In their right mind" is the key here. If people start playing Russian roulette with SS, what happens when they lose the shirts off their back because of another wave of corporate cronyism crime? The government will have to take care of them.

BushCo put our country into massive, oppressive debt and only curing that - as Bill Clinton did - will our economy be strong. We were all promised the security of SS and that is what we must demand. I wouldn't trust this administration to manage my son's weekly allowance.