| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
02 Feb 2005 08:47:16 PM |
| Object: |
What Bush did and did not say about his Social Security scam |
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/politics/10800590.htm
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005
What Bush did and did not say about his Social Security plan
BY ROBERT A. RANKIN
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - (KRT) -
President Bush devoted lots of attention in his State of the Union
address to his proposal for new personal investment accounts, which he
said would help improve the future financial stability of Social
Security.
The president was selling a fundamental change to Social Security
involving many complex parts.
Like any good salesman, he was putting the best face on his plan, and
he didn't mention many other aspects of it that would result in
greater federal debt and lower Social Security benefits for many
Americans.
Here is some of what the president didn't say:
-----Bush said that unless changes are made, Social Security is headed
for bankruptcy.
He didn't say that Social Security actuaries project that the system
can pay full retirement benefits until 2042 without making any
changes, and that after that, annual revenues will be sufficient to
cover 73 percent of benefits.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the system will be
able to pay full benefits until 2052 without any change.
-----Bush said he'd let younger workers pay for their new investment
accounts by diverting part of the taxes they now pay on their wages
into stocks and bonds that they'd own.
He didn't say that every dollar that was diverted into the new
personal accounts would be taken away from paying Social Security
benefits for today's and tomorrow's retirees and would have to be made
up by massive federal borrowing.
-----Bush said that fixing Social Security permanently would require a
careful review of the options.
He didn't say how he'd pay for the transition costs of moving from
today's Social Security system to one that includes new
personal-investment accounts, although White House aides said
Wednesday that they planned to borrow about $750 billion for that.
That would cover transition costs of phasing the system in from 2009
through 2015.
Bush and his aides didn't say that Social Security's actuaries
estimate that the price tag could be $2.2 trillion in the first decade
and $4.5 trillion in the second decade of full operation.
That would be added to the national debt.
The plan would increase the debt annually for about 60 years.
-----Bush said his new personal accounts would permit their owners to
build wealth.
He didn't say that those accounts would do nothing to fix Social
Security's projected funding gap between tax revenues and the cost of
retirement benefits.
White House aides said Wednesday that a worker's traditional Social
Security benefits would be reduced proportionately to offset the cost
of his new account, but Bush didn't mention reducing traditional
benefits.
The new accounts would be outside of Social Security's structure as we
know it, and they wouldn't pay for traditional Social Security
benefits promised under existing law.
-----Bush rules out raising taxes to fix Social Security's future
finances.
He didn't say that means the only way left to bring Social Security's
future income and costs into balance is to reduce future benefits.
-----Bush said he'd work with Congress to bring fiscal balance to
Social Security.
He didn't mention that his aides are weighing whether to propose a big
benefit cut for future retirees.
The cut is called "price indexing."
It would change the formula for raising future retirement benefits.
Current benefits rise in line with an index that ties them to the rise
in average annual wages.
The shift would replace that index with one tied to the rise in annual
prices.
Because wages tend to rise faster than prices, this shift would result
in a benefit reduction of 26 percent for average wage-earners who
retire in 2042, and of 46 percent for average wage-earners who retire
in 2075, according to Social Security actuaries.
________________________________________________________
Therefore, this Bush scam is meant do only one thing: Enrich his
crooked Wall Street cronies. Any other questions?
Harry
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| User: "John Smith" |
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| Title: Re: What Bush did and did not say about his Social Security scam |
02 Feb 2005 08:54:51 PM |
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"Harry Hope" <rivrvu@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:d24301limnn7mqo6fkalnr64sld9tm0u1i@4ax.com...
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/politics/10800590.htm
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005
What Bush did and did not say about his Social Security plan
<Bull ***** snipped>
Harry
Try posting lies after the the speech is complete.
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| User: "G" |
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| Title: Re: What Bush did and did not say about his Social Security scam |
02 Feb 2005 09:09:24 PM |
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John Smith wrote in message: news:<CvOdnUzZ-O8wD5zfRVn-
2g@comcast.com>
"Harry Hope" <rivrvu@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:d24301limnn7mqo6fkalnr64sld9tm0u1i@4ax.com...
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/politics/10800590.htm
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005
What Bush did and did not say about his Social Security plan
<Bull ***** snipped>
Harry
Try posting lies after the the speech is complete.
You're not aware that the press receives copies of the President's address
before it's delivered so they can report on it?
Do keep up.
.
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