[Vision2020] Social Security Time Lime

[Tom Hansen]

How soon people forget.

Remember the presidential debates of 2000?  Remember Gore and Bush debating
what they would do with the projected $5 trillion surplus (thanks to
Clinton)?  Remember Clark Athletic Center (University of Massachusetts),
October 3, 2000 (http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000a.html)?  Remember:

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MODERATOR (Jim Lehrer): Many experts, including Federal Reserve Chairman
Greenspan, Vice President Gore, say that it will be impossible for either of
you, essentially, to keep the system viable on its own during the coming
baby boomer retirement onslaught without either reducing benefits or
increasing taxes. You disagree?

BUSH: I thought it was interesting that on the two minutes he spent about a
million-and-a-half on my plan, which means he doesn't want you to know what
he's doing is loading up IOUs for future generations. He puts no real assets
into the Social Security system. The revenues exceed the expenses in Social
Security until the year 2015 which means all retirees are going to get the
promises made. For those of you who he wants to scare into the voting booth
to vote for him, hear me loud and clear. A promise made will be a promise
kept. You bet we want to allow younger workers to take some of their own
money. That's the difference of opinion. The vice president thinks it's the
government's money. The payroll taxes are your money. You ought to put it in
prudent, safe investments so that $1 trillion over the next ten years grows
to be $3 trillion. The money stays within the Social Security system. It's a
part of the Social Security system. He claims it will be out of Social
Security. It's your money, it's a part of your retirement benefit. It's a
fundamental difference between what we believe. I want you to have your own
asset that you can call your own. That you can pass on from one generation
to the next. I want to get a better rate of return for your own money than
the paltry 2% that the current Social Security Trust gets today. Mr.
Greenspan I thought missed an opportunity to say there's a third way, and
that is to get a better rate of return on the Social Security monies coming
into the trust. There is $2.3 trillion of surplus that we can use to make
sure that younger workers have a Social Security plan in the future. If
we're smart and if we trust workers and if we understand the power of the
compounding rate of interest.

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And also within that same debate (concerning another subject near and dear
to our hearts):

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MODERATOR (Jim Lehrer): New question. How would you go about as president
deciding when it was in the national interest to use U.S. force, generally? 

BUSH: Well, if it's in our vital national interest, and that means whether
our territory is threatened or people could be harmed, whether or not the
alliances are -- our defense alliances are threatened, whether or not our
friends in the Middle East are threatened. That would be a time to seriously
consider the use of force. Secondly, whether or not the mission was clear.
Whether or not it was a clear understanding as to what the mission would be.
Thirdly, whether or not we were prepared and trained to win. Whether or not
our forces were of high morale and high standing and well-equipped. And
finally, whether or not there was an exit strategy. I would take the use of
force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we
can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very
careful when we commit our troops. The vice president and I have a
disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I
would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe
the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore prevent war
from happening in the first place. So I would take my responsibility
seriously. And it starts with making sure we rebuild our military power.
Morale in today's military is too low. We're having trouble meeting
recruiting goals. We met the goals this year, but in the previous years we
have not met recruiting goals. Some of our troops are not well-equipped. I
believe we're overextended in too many places. And therefore I want to
rebuild the military power. It starts with a billion dollar pay raise for
the men and women who wear the uniform. A billion dollars more than the
president recently signed into law. It's to make sure our troops are
well-housed and well-equipped. Bonus plans to keep some of our high-skilled
folks in the services and a commander in chief that sets the mission to
fight and win war and prevent war from happening in the first place.

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Ms. Kraut - Perhaps a little honesty on the part of President Bush would be
nice for a change.

Take care, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Just Another Left Wing Intolerista Liberal Elitista Nutjob Wacko Loose in
the Palouse Doing What Comes Natural

"What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they
are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say
about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."

-- Robert F. Kennedy

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Pat Kraut
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 11:14 PM
To: vision2020
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Social Security Time Lime

So, all those dems who were crying crisis in Clintons day were wrong?? I
believe they are only afraid that the Repubs will win the save the day. Even
if it were for the good of the country the dems won't care...just so Bush
doesn't look good in any form. Social Security is in trouble and it doesn't
take a genius to figure it out. Economists have complained about it for many
years but to politicians it has been the 'third rail'. Bush has a lot of
guts and is in a good position to try to fix it. A little honesty on the
part of dems would be nice for a change.