Bush declares war on Americans

I have a real hard time trying to understand the President's agenda. He campaigned on protecting America and building a stronger, more unified country. But in his first few months of the second term, it looks like he is assaulting the American People. He set the tone on the first day during his inaugural address where he committed to "reach out to all who share our beliefs", and the rest of America be damned. He proposes a budget that benefits corporate interests and deeply cuts programs that middle America relies on to continue producing the nations food and goods. Medicare is in sad shape, yet he has taken on an agenda to somehow save social security, something that rarely came up during the campaign. The public opinion polls about the President's social security reform plans are tanking. What does Bush do? With public support waning, and even republican leaders waffling on the issue, Bush won't change his tune. Instead, the man who can never make a mistake sets up a "War Room" in the treasury department to churn out his propaganda bombs to be dropped all over America. He is now on a 60 city tour to tout his unpopular plans. And how much does this cost the American taxpayer? I'd like to know. What a waste of our hard earned money to fly Bush around the country with his entourage of secret service for this stink bomb. The costs of this blitz on America would be better spent trying to make real lasting change for all people. I guess all we Americans can do now, is DUCK AND COVER.

AP News article from ABC news

We already know the president is not interested in listening to the American People on the issues. I am incensed that he would use my hard-earned taxpayer money to fund his propaganda crusade against his own people. George, get a clue. There is not enough support for your radical destruction of social security. Please work with our legislators from both sides of the aisle to come up with feasible solutions for the social security problem. STOP WASTING OUR MONEY ON YOUR PROPAGANDA MACHINE.

North Dakota's new chair of the Democratic-NPL party is every eloquent in his description of republican criticism of non-supporters:

Other views: Change at any cost is a mistake
By David Strauss
The Forum - 03/06/2005

Contrary to Republican State Chairman Ken Karls' assertions (Forum, Feb. 20), Democrats agree that Social Security faces a long-term funding challenge and we look forward to working in a bipartisan fashion to strengthen Social Security for the long-term.

We agree that steps should be taken immediately to shore up the Social Security program and meet our promised commitments to both current and future retirees. We must never forget that Social Security remains a vital lifeline for thousands of North Dakotans - with one out of every six citizens receiving a Social Security benefit check. Of those individuals, one-third, 38,000 people, have no other income.

That is precisely why Democrats have been so concerned about the raiding of the Social Security trust fund. If the Republicans' fiscal policies are continued, every penny of the Social Security trust fund surplus - $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years - will be spent on tax cuts and other things. Those are payroll tax dollars that should be used to shore up Social Security by paying down debt in preparation for the retirement of the baby boom generation.

Stopping the raid on the trust fund is just the first step. Additional steps to strengthen the Social Security system will also be necessary. But Democrats will not support changes at any cost. Getting the changes right is just as important.

As proponents of privatization have openly acknowledged, private accounts would do nothing to help Social Security's long-term funding challenge or improve national savings. They wouldn't extend the solvency of the trust funds by a single day. In fact, because these private accounts would be financed by diverting payroll tax dollars, they would actually speed up the insolvency of the trust funds. And the massive additional borrowing that would be required would make our overall fiscal situation dramatically worse.

Estimates show that privatization could cost $1.4 trillion over the first 10 years it is in effect and $4.9 trillion over the first 20 years. Democrats believe that we must do more to encourage workers to save and invest for their own retirement, but pushing trillions of dollars of debt onto future generations is not the answer.

Proponents of private accounts fail to mention that your guaranteed Social Security benefit would be reduced for every dollar, plus interest, you chose to divert to your account.

Moreover, Republicans rarely discuss the fact that their plan would include an additional cut to the guaranteed Social Security benefit itself, whether or not you chose to participate in a private account. One option being considered would link Social Security benefit calculations to a "price index" rather than a "wage index." Because prices grow more slowly than wages over time, this change would translate into a massive cut in benefits for future retirees. A child born today could face a cut in their core benefit of more than 40 percent at retirement, even if they chose not to participate in a private account.

Those aren't "semantics" as Chairman Karls asserts. Those are very real concerns. Democrats want to strengthen Social Security with changes that are fair, balanced, and reasonable. Our congressional delegation - Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, and Rep. Earl Pomeroy - remain committed to doing just that. The steep benefit cuts and massive borrowing required under the Republican plan do not meet that test.

Strauss, Valley City, N.D., is chairman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party. E-mail strauss_david@msn.com

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Posted: Sun - March 6, 2005 at 07:37 AM, In Category:


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