Thursday, February 03, 2005
If I wanted to be lied to, I'd have kids
A variety of telling details went unspoken in the policy-thick [State of the Unioin] address, on jobs, Iraq, terrorism and more.
In a portion of his speech dealing with economic progress in the past four years, Bush trumpeted the addition of 2.3 million jobs "in the last year alone," as if he's delivered a succession of job gains.
His number was correct for the year in question, but he left out that there was an overall job loss in those four years. He remains about 300,000 jobs short of closing that jobs deficit.
Bush called Iraq "free and sovereign," an arguably premature definition in light of the continuing violence from insurgents and the overwhelming presence of U.S. troops.
The president touted global support for the Iraq war, saying 28 countries have troops on the ground. However, most troops come from the United States and Britain, 90 percent of coalition troop deaths have been American, and several nations have indicated they want to pull out because of costs, casualties and because the Iraqis completed their election Sunday.
Bush explained in detail how, under his proposal, younger workers would be able to divert some of their Social Security payroll taxes into private accounts "so you can build a nest egg for your own future."
Nowhere did he give the other side of the equation - that Social Security benefits for those workers would be reduced as a result. He stated "your account will provide money for retirement over and above the check you will receive from Social Security," without explaining that that check would be smaller.
Moreover, he seemed to issue a guaranteed return on investment for people putting some of their retirement money in the market, saying: "Your money will grow, over time, at a greater rate than anything the current system can deliver."
Although his plan promises checks and balances to ensure such money isn't frittered away on risky investments, it does not come with a guarantee of performance exceeding benefits of the current system. It does, however, come with that expectation.
Declaring Social Security will go broke if nothing is done, Bush said that by 2042, "the entire system would be exhausted and bankrupt."
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office forecasts Social Security as it is would be able to pay 73 percent of benefits in 2042 and stay solvent for 10 years beyond that.
Story. See also the Center for American Progress and Bob Harris.
posted by chris at 6:18 PM
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