Anyone remember the republicans big push some years ago to privatize social security? Can you imagine the mess we'd be in had they had their way? Mr. Bush campaigned for private accounts in 2000 and pushed hard for them in 2005, only to see the proposal die in a Republican-led Congress. McCain has voted for it three times.

Sunday, he said his views haven't changed but he does appear to be adjusting his views alittle. "I still believe that young Americans ought to ... be able to, in a voluntary fashion ... put some of their money into accounts with their name on it," he said in an interview with CNBC.

Funny, the party who praised deregulation and touted the value of privatization is now desperately trying to clean up this mess while letting the fat cats keep their profits and cutting loose average working Americans who are losing their houses.

Will the exec's at Lehman, AIG, Fannie Mae or Fredie Mac lose their homes? I doubt it.

Will your neighbors? Yep

Who's basket are your eggs in?

McCain Would Privatize Social Security
Monday 15 September 2008

by: Dean Baker,

One of the items that should be on top of the list of real issues is Senator McCain's plans to privatize and cut Social Security.

McCain has repeatedly expressed interest in privatizing Social Security along the lines proposed by President Bush.

The losses to retired workers could mean big benefits for the financial industry. Under some versions of the plan, the financial industry would rake in hundreds of billions of dollars in fees and commissions over the next 40 years.

According to a recent World Bank analysis, the financial industry pocketed 15-20 percent of the money paid into the privatized Social Security system in Chile, which has often been held up as a model by privatizers in the United States. Given the losses that the millionaire Wall Street bozos have incurred with the housing crash, it is understandable that Senator McCain would want to help the very rich needy.

The privatizers have worked hard to convince the public that Social Security is on its last legs, but this is simply a lie.

The public should know that Social Security is fundamentally sound today and is projected to be sound far into the future. The line about Social Security going bankrupt is just a scare tactic pushed by the privatizers.

with a one trillion dollar bailout, which is what we are facing as a total between what the Fed has already done and intends to do next, we will have no SSI benefits forthcoming.

The strain on the capital requirements of sovency of the USD have shifted from public debt responsibility to an assumption that the bailouts will have a return on the publicly funded funds propping up "business as usual"

There is no change in law to suggest that anything but collapse will ultimately accompany the bailouts of publicly trade corporations doing business in the US, especially if the owners themselves are not constrained to be American interests by law.

There is no guarantee that social security or privately funded retirement accounts will be solvent and liquifiable upon demand without hesitation and delay.

It is wishful thinking to assume that one is better than the other.

Especially in the case of the US Government giving up control of one trillion dollars to the theives in the free market.




If Obama is going to prove himself a liar above all liars, let it be that he says from the Oval Office that no "free lunches" are coming, kids.


If McCain is a flip flopper and liar of all liars, let it be that he cannot work across the aisle and move Congress to make claen simple bills that change the laws that govern the daily conduct of business and the flow of capital insuring solvency and liquidity of the free market with some teeth in those laws.


When the Fed declared 700 billion more to bail out the free market, it effectively baNKRUPTED ITS BALANCE SHEET TO DO SO.



Does anyone get this?

It's estimated that this move is going to take our deficeit from almost 10 trillion to 11.5 trillion.

yup.

a negative profit of 500 billion.

brilliant, huh?

Check on this... So you will actually know it.

Private corporations in some part are working the SS System.

Is it possible that this is what McCain intended and we are being mislead (for political reasons).

Quite a bit of the SS systems administative funcitons are done now by private contractors. They do a good job of it in the parts that I checked... And do it at a cost savings to the taxpayer (somehow they do it for less then what it cost the SSA before the contractors started stepping in)

The Social Security System is not in danger. (More political manuevering).

And it IS one of the indicators that McCain was right... Parts of the foundation of our economy is FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND...

but of course it is not Politically Correct to say something like that right now cause it puts then news services in a position of not being able to control the polls that keep you all glued to their ratings rack.

While the Bush-McCain crew has long been trying to whip up fears about Social Security's finances, the reality is that the program is financially solid. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently updated its analysis of the program's finances.

The analysis projects that Social Security will be able to pay all scheduled benefits through the year 2049 with no changes whatsoever. Even after 2049, when the program is first projected to face a shortfall.

The line about Social Security going bankrupt is just a scare tactic pushed by the privatizers.

Have you been watching the TV... Obama ads are saying SS is in trouble also (it is one of the things he puts in his negative ads)

Figure it out dude..

There is no real republican/democrat party.

It is called mefirstism and all persons running for office have that sickness to one degree or another.

cynicism enjoys ringing musically to my ears.

Yes, Virginia's economy is definitely one growing in dependence on government white collar contracts.

Real estate isn't worth spit there , either.

Almost as flat as Florida.


The US cannot borrow its way into paying benefits due SSI retirees.

The excess has long been spent and future deposits from your paycheck through future witholding have already been committed elsewhere.

Government borrowing has laready proved to be a lackluster attraction to foreigns with dollars to invest. They are buying US Companies wholesale now.

The US Government knows this.

Where will they borrow to payout the benefits to baby boomers?

Nowhere.

They are giving away the store as fast as they can without changing the laws that govern the actions of the free market capitalists that play the game, here and abroad.

It is insanity and delusion to expect different results from the free market from the same "business as usual" structure to which the public treasure of America has poured itself into.


They pour the KOOL AID and the country is drinking it.


Drink too much and expect to puke.

who wants a bib?