This would be a better post if it had less snark and more detail. could you expand on what you see as the issue revealed by snow's blowing off the caller? I'm not being captious, I'm just curious and your post is too inside ball for me.
aimai
Posted by aimai at January 5, 2006 07:28 AMaimai,
Some details will be forthcoming, but really, snow deserves little more than snark for his response, which was, admittedly the only part I saw this morning, but all I really needed to see.
The caller wanted some comment on those two parts of the SSA, and got nothing in response, not even remotely on the topic of his question, just bullshit blathering about reforming Social Security, and then his comment about an unfunded obligation just fried me.
It might be underfunded at some point, although if the republicans dictated Congress was interested in fixing the problem instead of further enriching their corporate and rich sole constituency they could do so without "reforming" Social Security, but it is certainly not unfunded. That's what those SS taxes on your paycheck are for, to fund SS.
But that's the lie the goppers will throw out, that it's going to go broke, that we're going to be forced to default on those IOU's as bush calls them. Of course, they're not IOU's, they're Bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the US Government. Sure, bush has no faith or creditability but that is irrespective of the law.
Snow just wanted to polish bush's knob as far as I could tell.
Think about it. What's going to happen to the demographics of Social Security after the baby boomers pass out of the system? (Die)
The dynamics will change radically as the mini boomers pay into the current system for far fewer people, thus surpluses again.
So, after all my bloviating above, the Secretary of the Treasury appears to know nothing about the law, and is still thumping the drums of bush's privatization plan. Even though it was, last year during the big bush bamboozalooza Social Security Tour, about as popular as cash money from Jack Abramoff is today, and no Congresscritter with a shred of intelligence or cunning will jump on that bandwagon again, yet bushco is still trying to push this miserable scam anyway.
Now, why do you think that is?
I think that, as it has been from day one of this puny little failure of a humans' administration, big corporate money trying to accumulate still more wealth and its concomitant power as the one and only true reason for george w bush's existence as president.
They know the curtain is coming down so they're trying to get every little bit that they can get their warped and sweaty little paws on, at the cost of everything right and decent and true about this country and her people.
How's that?
Posted by Duckman GR at January 5, 2006 09:16 AMI saw Snow, and while I can't give details, he was extremely annoying. Didn't answer anything, just BSed everything. I wish I could remember some of what he said, but I guess I've blocked it from my mind.
CG, you didn't miss a thing.
Posted by Duckman GR at January 5, 2006 10:13 AMDuckman, I'm pretty sure S.S. funds have to be invested in government-backed securities, not specifically treasury bonds. That would allow S.S. to be invested in Ginnie Maes, for example.
Posted by CA Pol Junkie at January 5, 2006 10:36 AMThat seems to be what they're saying, but I'm just not finding the actual law as yet. Which is fine.
The thing is that the caller to snow said that he had read the actual SS Act and had read that they could be invested in the private sector, and snow didn't even try to respond to that, since, of course, if that were to be true, the whole privatization scam makes even less sense. IF the feds can do it, why wouldn't they?
And if they can, what would be the point of private accounts except to add layers of buraucracy and middle men to what is arguably the cheapest run successful investment program ever?
Other than the obvious, vast sums of money flowing through the private sector, lots of extra fees and administrative costs for the private sector, big fat juicy contracts with the Federal Government for the private sector with the inevitable fraud and corruption, oh, it's just pure republican corrupt corporate governance at its finest.
Hence the snark, aimai, hence the snark, and not nearly enough of it!
Posted by Duckman GR at January 5, 2006 11:12 AMI saw Snow - and it was the usual Snowjob.
Turned off the teevee set all happy, thinking everything was rosey, until I went to the mailbox and got my $260 gas bill & $150 light bill.........
Posted by old crone at January 5, 2006 05:56 PM