Social Insecurity Complex: Half-Truths

Kudos to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Robert Rankin for a concise review of Dubya's read-the-fine-print plans to "fix" Social Security by concocting a crisis and adding more than $2 trillion to the national deficit.

That's the sort of "fix" you typically get only in a veterinarian's office.

We back the idea of something being done to remedy Social Security -- perhaps raising the retirement age or even reducing benefits ... hell, we even kinda dig some aspects of the proposed private accounts -- but this is far too important of a policy debate to accept anything less than truthful, thoughtful discourse (precluding this blog, of course).

It's surely too important a matter for bogus whoppers like this, from Dubya's State o' the Union:

"By the year 2042, the entire system would be exhausted and bankrupt..."

That is complete and utter nonsense. Dubya couldn't have been more disingenuous if he had worn a bonnet and said he was the Easter bunny (which, by the way, would have made those interminable 53 minutes just fly by...)

Granted, the President had a right to make his case to the American people in last night's State of the Union address, but it is just plain ol' Texas-sized steaming cow shit for him to continue the charade that nothing short of a privatized revolution will work.