How will the relgious right benefit by getting rid of social security.

[whistle]

...by becoming the only game in town and tapping into that 6.25% themselves and becoming the biggest game in town.

<snip>

The following 'orthodox' doctrine is featured on the CBN religious right web site...

A Plan to Guarantee Benefits to Future Generations

(Begin with the fear mongering)
Social Security is going bankrupt. We can either endlessly borrow more money to keep the program going, raise FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) 20 percentage points if we are going to use taxes to make it solvent, or cut benefits 40 percent, or grow the rate of return coming into Social Security. The best way to do that is to give individuals ownership over their own retirement accounts by establishing personal retirement accounts.

('Frame' the narrative, so that disenfranchisement becomes 'ownership')
PAT ROBERTSON: The president is into that, with that ownership society. He's on board for this program, isn't he?

(Call for the downsizing of other government programs...no mention here is made of those trillion dollar tax cuts for the 'have mores' as Bush called his 'base'...this is an example of the selective presentation of information)
During Bill Clinton's presidency, he grew the government at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent. So grow government at a percentage point faster than Clinton grew it, and at a percentage point slower than we are growing it, and use those savings largely to transition over to a solvent Social Security System. What I am trying to do is two things -- build a constituency for containing the growth of federal government.

(Here we have an example of more fear mongering, combined with disinformation spread by ignoring the inconvenient facts revealed by economists as we shall see)
Look at what the trustees are saying, the Alan Greenspans are saying. Social Security is going bankrupt. The sooner we act, the better it is. The more we procrastinate, the uglier the options are. We want to get the country educated as to the consequences of not acting and the benefits of reform. <more>

<link> http://www.awitness.org/journal/social_security_reform.html

[izzie]

1. Maybe faith based places will get control of more old people?

Bush has giving ? what over a Trillion to these groups. All this money he is shipping out has to come from some place. May be the churches will care for the old people. It would push people back into churches. And the ones with the money will be the ones Bush is giving the money to.

[Tux]

2. Christians

that are fundie believe that one is wealthy by god's grace and poor people are punished for sin. SS is godless as it stops god's punishment. Also disease is caused by sin so healthcare has to be either reduced only for the wealthy (god's favorite) or removed completely. Wonder why Medicaid is cut? Also, faith-based programs allow them to push you to Christianity while helping you. Knowing they are in hard time, telling people Christians have the truth to salvation and those people convert. It's no more than creating a Christian theocracy.

[Hekate]

3. To understand any of it you have to check out their theology

It's really very spooky s**t. Google for Christian Reconstructionism, which describes itself as "an extreme form of Calvinism," and continue on to Dominionism and Theonomy. Then if you really want to give yourself nightmares, Google for those terms plus Bush or DeLay or any of the rest of the power brokers in our government, both elected and appointed.

See, there's no reason to take care of either people or the Earth because the world is going to end soon and the only thing that matters is the next world. What they are trying to do is hasten the day, because prophecy has it that everything will go pretty much to hell here before Jesus returns. (Global warming? Obviously no problem.) Both domestic and foreign policies are heavily impacted by this theocratic worldview.

It's very important, in their eyes, that Israel be restored to its Biblical boundaries that include Judah and Samaria. Jesus won't come back until that happens. The fact that the entire Mideast would be engulfed in war if anyone seriously tried to do that is beside the point. God wants it done. (Never heard of Judah and Samaria since the last time you were in Sunday school? A couple of weeks ago I actually heard a reporter ask about them at some Washington press briefing. I figure that "reporter" was planted.)

Domestically, we are supposed to return to Old Testament law in all things, which in their worldview involves a whole lot of smiting and not much reference to the Sermon on the Mount. God rewards the elect and punishes sinners -- so if you are rich and healthy it means God loves you, and if you are poor and unhealthy it means God is punishing you for something you did or even maybe just thought.

The Neocons, the Theocons, the Corporatists, and the Pentagon are in an unholy alliance with one another...

Hekate

[jwirr]

4. Can anyone superimpose a map of old Isreal

over the present day middle east? I would be interested in seeing what they think they are going to accomplish.

[jwirr]

5. A Prayer I Have on My Desk Pad:

"Please Lord, protect us from some of Your followers."