"Looting Social Security, Part 2" Wm. Greider (Why the Petersen Foundation and Peter Orszag matter)

Looting Social Security, Part 2
By William Greider


So why do the TFT reporters (Elaine Povich and Eric Pianin) zero in on old folks and Social Security or entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid? Because those are Pete Peterson's favorite targets. He has flogged Social Security as a blight on our future for at least twenty years. He is a nut on the subject. His "facts" are wildly distorted or simply not true. Never mind, the establishment press portrays him as a disinterested statesman.

This crusade is dangerous for the people because the "respectables" in governing circles and both parties embrace the same reactionary logic. Does government have money problems? Don't restore the progressive income tax on the wealthy or capital, don't cut away some of the corporate boodle in the federal budget--that politics is too difficult. Instead, let's whack Social Security while folks aren't watching.

The biggest lie in Peterson's story-telling is his refusal to acknowledge the looting aspect of what he proposes. Despite his inflamed rhetoric, Social Security is not broke--it has a huge surplus of around $3 trillion (trillion, not billion). With no changes at all, the trust fund will be solvent for at least another thirty years. In fact, workers retiring now have already paid for their Social Security benefits because they paid higher payroll taxes for the past twenty-five years. I might have a little respect for fiscal crazies like Peterson, Conrad and Gregg if I once heard them state these facts honestly instead of demonizing Social Security recipients.

Here is what really worries the fiscal hawks: as the Social Security trust fund built up the huge surpluses, the federal government borrowed the money and spent it. The time is approaching--maybe ten or twelve years from now--when the federal treasury will have to start paying back its debts to Social Security. The accumulated wealth does not belong to the US government, any more than the money it borrowed from China. The beneficial owners are all those working people who faithfully paid their FICA taxes for all those years. If Washington stiffs them now, it will be a bait-and-switch swindle larger than Wall Street's.

A year ago, the Obama White House was playing footsie with Peterson and intended to give him a starring role in its "fiscal responsibility summit." The Nation disrupted those plans. I wrote a fierce attack on the billionaire's looting scheme and the true fiscal history of Social Security. The sting that really hurt was The Nation's cover--an unfortunate photograph of Mr. Peterson in which he resembled a Mafia don. The White House abruptly downplayed its summit and dropped Peterson as keynote speaker.

But the assault on Society Security, we knew, would come back sooner or later because many of Obama's lieutenants are devoted to Peterson's fiscal logic. Budget director Peter Orszag once co-authored a "reform" plan that would raise the payroll tax on young workers and cut benefits for older people near retirement. Isn't that clever? Pinhead economists evidently think that workers won't notice. Now the billionaire is cranking up another fight. We should finger him again, big-time, and all those who willingly collaborate in his plot.

More of this important read at.................
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100111/greider

or the benefits of anyone near retirement. Here's the plan.

http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/orszag/200504security.pdf

What worries so-called fiscal hawks is that the people will realize they're owed their FICA money back, not the reality of it being gone. They hope they can destroy social security as a result of the trust fund being looted, by convincing people to go to private accounts.

Orszag, at least, is not buying into that nonsense and is trying to come up with a solution to replace the missing FICA trust fund. I don't agree with increasing FICA taxes to do it, but he's more right than a lot of people on the topic. His plan also does not increase retirement for anyone over 55, who have already had their retirement age increased anyway. The tax is also more complicated and assessed to higher incomes because they live longer and use more benefits.

These are serious problems that we need to address correctly now if we don't want Republicans doing it later. There was no crisis a couple of years ago, but there will be if we don't get the money somewhere.

People need to read the whole thing and burn up the phone lines.

It's amazing how much Republican policy can get pushed through when Democrats are in charge.




"Likewise, people need to confront Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi immediately. It has been reported the two Congressional leaders are prepared to go along with this ugly ploy. I find that hard to believe, but we need to find out--now--because Conrad and Gregg and their rich friend intend to demand the "commission" legislation be included later this month when Congress votes to raise the federal debt ceiling. That's clever timing designed to stampede members of Congress since, if the debt-ceiling measure is not enacted, government in theory might be shut down.

Maybe progressives should recruit some Democratic senators who will stage a progressive filibuster. Let's see how Harry Reid deals with that. Or maybe progressives in the House can recruit some bipartisan support in Republican ranks. Above all, people need to make a lot of noise, because this issue represents one more fleecing for people already struggling. If the Democratic party and the Democratic president decide to go down this road, arm-in-arm with the billionaire and the Washington Post, they may find themselves in a civil war much like the one tearing up the Republicans."

thrown by wall street cuz we would not give them access to our social security....

Of course, politicians in Congress have learned to not touch it -- even after claiming that they were going to.

And it is our business to make sure that any pols who do try to touch it get that final shock of their political careers.

difficulties GET THE FUCK OUT OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN! And cut the military budget in half. Right now!

is this thread dying? Every one will be old one day. I thought Democrats cared about things like SS.