Half of America Believes Bush Is Trying to Dismantle Social Security
By on May 13th, 2005 at 4:56 pm
Half of America Believes Bush Is Trying to Dismantle Social Security
For months, President Bush has been touting his agenda of privatization and benefit cuts as a way to strengthening Social Security. He even created a website dedicated to promoting his proposals called strengtheningsocialsecurity.gov. The American people aren’t buying it. From the WSJ this morning:
[O]nly 36% of all adults say Mr. Bush’s comments on saving and strengthening Social Security are his real motives for changing the program, while 49% believe his real agenda is to dismantle it.
Overall, 59 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush’s position on Social Security. Nevertheless, the White House insists their efforts on Social Security have been a “great success.”
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You mean a full 49% of the country is now awake? I’m torn between disgust that less than half the country can see what’s right in front of them, and happiness that the number who are aware seems to be rising.
May 13th, 2005 at 5:01 pmBearing in mind the abysmal failure of the Bush administration in virtually every aspect of foreign and domestic policy, the Traveling Social Security Snake Oil and Monkey Shine Show probably counts as a success.
It would be hilarious if it weren’t my country.
May 13th, 2005 at 5:09 pmYou mean after fifty years of saying they want to dismantle social security, after all their manifestos against the welfare state, the Republicans are unable to convince half the country they suddenly want to preserve it?
Huh. Go figure.
May 13th, 2005 at 5:10 pmIn the 1964 Chad Mitchell Trio song ‘Barry’s Boys,’ a parody about Goldwater, they sang, “We’re the kids who agree to be social without security, we’re Barry’s boys…” That was the agenda 41 years ago and it hasn’t changed.
May 13th, 2005 at 6:01 pmHow about “half the country knows” at least some of the other half might figure it out.
May 13th, 2005 at 9:48 pmDon’t congratulate yourselves yet… the regime has a penchant for shoving unpopular things (and people) down our throats whether we want them or not.
May 14th, 2005 at 12:18 amcan’t we get over 50 just once?
May 14th, 2005 at 1:50 am“Something happens to Republican leaders when they get control of the Government….
May 14th, 2005 at 8:29 amRepublicans in Washington have a habit of becoming curiously deaf to the voice of the people. They have a hard time hearing what the ordinary people of the country are saying. But they have no trouble at all hearing what Wall Street is saying. They are able to catch the slightest whisper from big business and the special interest. ” Harry Truman 1948 presidential campaign.
It is pathetic that half of American’s live their lives without questioning a darn thing.
May 14th, 2005 at 11:02 amIt doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Bushie wants to dismantle Social Security.
Afterall, who in Bushie’s life would need such benefits when they are all members of the rich and organized “mafia”.
No offense to the mafia.
The jawjackers on the right just never seem to stop long enough to let some slow thinking wing nuts to evaluate how screwed up what they say is. Thats my opinion of why it’s always around 50%
May 15th, 2005 at 3:38 pmThe statement that this is their idea of a “great success” tells you a whole lot about that ol’ faith-based worldview. Up is down. Right is wrong. Failure is success. And the looking glass is right this way….
At this point, I think we can only win if we continue to encourage them in these delusions. It’s the only way that that wide swath of Americans who are only slightly reality-based will finally figure out how out of touch these guys are.
May 15th, 2005 at 7:24 pmEVERYTHING THEY DO IS A SUCCESS! – even the failure.
The emperor is naked. Stop giving him compliments on his clothing.
May 16th, 2005 at 1:56 amI get a kick out of you young “prgressives” who have a “solution” for the insolvency of the SS program. Just raise taxes on the upper income earners. Dumbasses.
You will deserve what you get – high taxes, high inflation, and low benefits.
May 17th, 2005 at 2:37 am“Dumbasses. You will deserve what you get.”
You know, Buckshot, that pretty well describes how we feel about the people who buy the entire Bush line of hoakum about grab what you can, keep all you grab, and lie your Buckshot off to the people below you.
May 17th, 2005 at 11:18 amLee,
Running around with your hands over your ears and eyes, yelling “There is no crises”, is hardly a solution.
SS will only be in surplus for a few more years – maybe ten or so. (and that surplus is being spent, don’t forget)
From that point on – there will be less coming in each year than going out. Each year, the difference will grow. It will require several hundred billion dollars per year (of printed money) to make up the difference.
High inflation will be the end result. The old folks will still get the $$ but it won’t be worth very much. The COLA’s will be reformed so the SS payments don’t continue to rise along with inflation.
There really is no other answer to the “crisis”.
May 17th, 2005 at 12:57 pmBuckshot says: “Running around with your hands over your ears and eyes, yelling “There is no crises” is hardly a solution.”
True. And running around yelling “there’s a crisis, there’s a crisis” doesn’t mean there is one. I don’t even understand what Bush’s point is, unless it’s, as I suspect, hostility to government social programs.
There’s a “crisis” because outlays will soon exceed intakes? That’s only a crisis in the sense that the government will soon have to start paying back its loans from the fund. IF that’s a crisis, it has nothing to do with the technical solvency of Social Security, and Bush (and everyone else) better be honest about it.
IF there’s a crisis, creating private accounts does not solve it. It will likely accelerate the need for government borrowing, so that part of the crisis is made WORSE at the same time that the “security” aspect of the program is destroyed.
IF there’s a crisis because we can only pay 73% of scheduled benefits once the trust fund is exhausted, Bush’s last proposal to cut scheduled benefit increases for “high earners” doesn’t solve it–under that plan, most recipients would receive LESS THAN THE 73% they get if we do nothing.
So you tell me, what’s really going on? And keep in mind that GWB expressed an intent to privatize Social Security before he was ever President, and I’m sure it was long before he ever had any inkling about Social Security finances.
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January 4th, 2006 at 3:28 pm[...] Judd Legum over at Think Progress gives us the good news: Half of Americans think Bush is trying to dismantle Social Security. [...]
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