Josh Marshall is 100% correct: Over at TPM, Josh Marshall
says it all. We have been discussing the Social Security issue on this blog and privately, and many of the things we've said are in the TPM post. Josh focuses on the Important Facets of the debate:
- There is no crisis.
- Bush is lying when he talks about Social Security.
- Bush wants to abolish Social Security.
- Republicans want to end this successful government program because they don't like to see any successful government welfare program. ('welfare' as in Welfare Capitalism)
- Democrats must be united in this fight.
- Democratic participation in order to minimize the damage created by the 'reform' is bad politics and bad policy. This is one issue that must not admit compromise.
- Ending Social Security must be seen as a purely Republican goal.
- Democratic unity should be strictly enforced by the power centers within the party.
- The Republican plan should not be described as a 'reform' or 'rescue' or any other mild characterization. The talking point should only be that the Republicans want to end the program.
- Stay away from disparaging the stock market. That's missing the point.
- The focus should be on proclaiming Social Security as a guaranteed benefit that goes to everybody.
- Democrats should get into the fight and raise hell.
posted by Quiddity at 12/15/2004 08:51:00 AM
Can you add one more bullet point? LINK to the NUMBERS. What we are largely lacking here is context, and from personal experience I can tell you that privatizers simply refuse to give predictions of future economic performance. Because when you run those predictions up against the offical ones in the Social Security Trustees' Reports you can only conclude that there is no crisis, and if anything Social Security is overfunded. The economy did not grow at 2.8% in 2004, the economy won't grow at the dismal rate of 2.1% in 2005. And those were the OPTIMISTIC numbers that showed no increase in payroll tax or retirement age, no decrease in benefits required (Low Cost Alternative ( I ) ).
Economic Assumptions under the Three AlternativesTrust Fund Ratios under the Three Alternatives Both being direct links to the relevant table and figure in the HTML version of the 2004 Trustees' report. Examine the numbers, compare them to your own predictions for the economy, ponder the outcome of beating the rather pathetic "optimistic" Low Cost Alternative and draw your own conclusions. Then direct your friends there.
