Rep Jim Moran on Bush's Social Security and Rendition

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from Democracy Now.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/29/1351231

Excellent rebuttal of Bush's crazy scheme.

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1. This is a great interview and deserves some excerpts.

from the interview:

"what President Bush is going to do is to means test it , which on the face of it makes a lot of sense, except that it will lose the political support of the people who have the power and the influence in this country. . . . What happens is that if you means test this, and it's only the poorer people who have a vested interest in maintaining it, it won't be maintained. And I think that's what President Bush has in mind."

"You know, the only thing that is really fiscally solvent of any size in this country is the Social Security Trust Fund. It's not going bankrupt. Our country is going bankrupt."

Rendition is "only lawful because they make their own law. It's wrong, and you know, if any of President Bush's family, if either of his daughters were ever arrested in any of those countries, he would move heaven and earth to get them out of there, because he knows they do torture. Those prisons are inhumane hell holes."

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4. Vid Clipped Excerpts

Moran on Social Security

Moran on Rendition

More clips at Poly Vids

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2. Raw Story interview with Rep. Moran (MUST READ, AWESOME!)

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/jim_moran_interview_bush_republicans_429.htm

In scathing interview, Democrat says Bush Social Security plan won't help; Dubs Cheney 'ass kisser'

By John Byrne | RAW STORY

In an exclusive interview with RAW STORY, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) slammed President Bush and Congressional Republicans' attempts to take on Social Security, saying he believes Bush has surrounded himself with those who agree with him and has lost touch with America.

...

The Virginian said he believes that the Republican base has used Bush to push Social Security reform, a project that he says is essentially one to axe Social Security.

"I think they realized that they’re never going to find anybody who is as willing to carry out the agenda of these Republican right wing nuts and reverse the course of American progress," he remarked. "This is their chance. This is their chance to cut taxes down to the bone. This is their chance to repeal Social Security and to bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid."

President Bush is holding an event to promote his plan in Moran's district Friday. The events—like most of those the president held during his presidential campaign—are prescreened to include supporters. Moran suggested that such events may have contributed to what he sees as a sense of "self-delusion" Bush has shown in promoting a plan that polls poorly with the American public.

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-- much more, read the whole thing... this Moran does not need to get a brain, he has one and uses it...

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3. Rep Jim Moran only forgot the fact the "investment account" is really

a "margin account" built on a loan that must be paid back - leaving one with real cash only if your investment did better than the interest rate Bush charges you on the "loan"-

a fact perhaps made amusing when you realize that the "loan" is built by taking payroll taxes from you - and then telling you you must pay them "back" so as to buy an annuity.

As explained in the Washington Post, the latest - Progressive indexing"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2005/04/30/GR2005043000201.html

This method would leave benefits untouched for low-wage earners but would phase in cuts for people earning $25,000 or more. Those earning the taxable maximum of $90,000 would experience the steepest cuts. The plan would not affect people who are currently 55 or older
..... more .....

But the summary is that this is a way to avoid increasing the wage cap which "hurts" the rich - so it is better to hurt the middle class
- and along the way split everyone else from the poor and perhaps
undermine the entire Social Security system -

a gift from our compassionate conservative who brings people together.


Also of interest is
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issuebriefs_ib145

The Perils of Privatization: Bush's Lethal Plan for Social Security" by the Economic Policy Institute...

Excessive rates of return -- The Bush proposal assumes an excessively high rate of return on personal accounts- an average real rate of 6%, but future returns are likely to be much lower. Present rates cannot persist nor will returns over the next 75 years equal those of the past 75-primarily because the stock market is currently overvalued. Expert opinion is predicting future returns over the next 75 years to average 4.0% to 4.5%, adjusted for inflation. Returns on bonds in the Social Security Trust Fund are expected to average 3%, after inflation. Even the 1% to 1.5% advantage of stocks over bonds will largely be erased by the higher overhead associated with equity investments.

Moreover, the stock market has shown that it can produce long droughts for financial investors. In the twentieth century, three different 20-year periods-1901 to 1921, 1928 to 1948, and 1962 to 1982-have generated average real rates of return of 0%. Under such circumstances, private investments in equities will not provide sufficient returns for a decent standard of living in retirement.