shenanigans-1

"We continue to discover biological and chemical weapons and the facilities to make them inside of Iraq, and even more about their intended use, including that a plan to distribute sarin, and the lethal poison ricin -- in the United States and Europe -- was actively being pursued as late as March 2003. The facility where the weapons were being made also housed a large inventory of perfume atomizers of various shapes and sizes to mimic the brands on store shelves in the United States. It doesn't take a wild imagination to understand the chilling implications. It does take imagination to combat it. And that's why we're lucky have an administration that gets it." Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA) at the 2005 Conservation Political Action Conference Feb 18, 2005. There were no gasps or shocked looks from the audience which included Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), Dore Gold, foreign policy advisor to former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, NRA president Kayne Robinson and Vice President Dick Cheney. They all seemed to know this already.

But the CIA didn't say that. And the inspectors have all gone home. So where are these continuing reports of discovery coming from?

Seems he may be confusing his villains.

# posted by CuriousCity : 2:52 PM  0 comments

Obviously, here is an opportunity for somebody to put their excess earnings in a private (oops personal) account and accept riskier provisions for her old age .

MS. MORNIN: Okay, I'm a divorced, single [57 year-old] mother with three grown, adult children. I have one child, Robbie, who is mentally challenged, and I have two daughters.

THE PRESIDENT: Fantastic. First of all, you've got the hardest job in
America, being a single mom...

MS. MORNIN: That's good, because I work three jobs and I feel like I contribute.

THE PRESIDENT: You work three jobs?

MS. MORNIN: Three jobs, yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that. (Applause.) Get any sleep? (Laughter.)

MS. MORNIN: Not much. Not much.

Yes, the working poor are so quaint. Ms Mornin is a mother of three who has a mentally challenged son.

Vice President Cheney [Catholic University, 1/13/05]

Cheney: Another argument against Social Security reform with voluntary personal accounts is that the so-called transition costs would be too high. Yet focusing merely on transition costs is to overlook the greater cost of doing nothing. Again, the projected shortfall in Social Security exceeds $10 trillion; that figure is nearly twice the combined wages and salaries of every single working American last year. There will be no -- there will be costs no matter what we decide"

Note he is comparing the costs projected for 75 years in the future to wages and salaries from last year. On an apples-for-apples basis the Social Securities Trustees said "in the 2004 report issued last March, the Trustees updated those figures to a $10.4 trillion deficit and a $295.5 trillion taxable payroll." That is it will be a 3.55% shortfall in revenue versus expenses. Under the current formula that could be made up then with a 1.77% increase in the social security tax to both employee and business. If the increase in the FICA is done in 2006, the increase to FICA is 1.33%/2=0.66%. Neither increase constitutes a crisis.

Dick Cheney [Fox News Sunday 2/6/05], "We're going to borrow $758 [b]illion over the next 10 years to set up the personal retirement accounts. We think that's a manageable amount ... Trillions more after that."

Chris Wallace, "Isn't that misleading? Because under your plan, the accounts, the program wouldn't actually start til 2009. So, if you take the first full 10 years, when people can actually invest in the program, the cost is over $1 trillion, and for the following 10 years, it's $3.5 trillion. Isn't it a lot more expensive?"

Especially when the private accounts don't solve the underlying problem of funding Social Security with fewer workers.