Council of Economic Advisers Chairman N. Gregory Mankiw implies that any overhaul of Social Security would require cuts to promised benefits for future retirees. He told a tax policy conference "They [promised benefits] are empty promises."
Of course, Mr. Mankiw is known for saying things the Bush administration later said were misconstrued. He made the news back in February saying outsourcing would prove "a plus for the economy in the long run," and was simply "a new way of doing international trade."
Not wise at the time when outsourcing was shaping up as a campaign issue.
The Bush administration plans to outline Social Security reform later this month in a two day conference. The administration is touting privatization of a portion of Social Security, but that won't fix looming problems with the system. Only tax hikes or benefit cuts can address those problems. The private investment plan may divert attention from the more painful parts of the reform. (NYT)
Friday, December 03, 2004
Winding Down in Washington State
Watching the "other" Washington, Democrats have until tonight to come up with $700,000 to pay for a hand recount of ballots in the Washington state Governors race. Republican Dino Rossi has been certified the winner -- by a slim 42 vote margin. That's out of 2.8 million votes cast. Democrat Christine Gregoire says she will only agree to a recount if all the state's counties have their ballots recounted -- not just recounts in counties that'd likely give her an edge. (MSNBC)
Philosophy, Economics, and other Exact Sciences
The idea of privatizing portions of Social Security is more of a pholosophical debate than an economic one. Privatizing won't fix Social Security's looming problems. But it won't necessarily hurt retirees. That depends a lot on how the privatization works. The Associated Press has an analysis in Q&A format. (AP via MSNBC)
Reaching the Summit on Bush Economic Plans
President Bush's plans for Social Security and income tax reform are still pretty vague. But he plans to flesh them out in an economic summit. It'll be something like the one he held in 2002 to outline plans for recovering from the recession. The conference will include the Vice President and Cabinet secretaries. It's supposed to happen later this month. (Houston Chronicle)
Taking the Blame -- A Rare Thing in Washington
A 19 year veteran Congressional aide has taken the fall for a privacy stripping plan buried in the omnibus spending bill. Richard Efford works for Rep Ernest Istook, Jr (R-OK) on the House Appropriations Committee. He says he's the guy who stuck a phrase in the bill that'd give him and his collegues broad power to review anybody's tax returns. He says the idea was to make it easier to audit how the IRS worked. It worked up Congressional leaders who promised to hold up the bill until the language could be removed. (MSNBC)
Not In My Backyard
Buried away in the massive spending bill set to clear Congress next week is a plan that has state leaders around the nation upset. The clause gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission -- not the states -- the power to decide where to put liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Liquifying natural gas makes it easy to transport, but the terminals are prime terrorist targets and hold the potential for massive disaster in an explosion. That makes them very unpopular with potential neighbors and easy for states to block their construction. Giving the power to Washington makes it easier to put the terminals where the energy industry wants them -- and limits lobbying expenses to just Washington instead of several coastal states. (LAT)
Democrats Win the Money Race
The Republicans didn't win all the races this last election. The Democratic National Committee beat the GOP in fundraising. They took in about $17 million more than the Republican National Committee. But with the GOP holding the White House and Congress -- looks like the Republicans got more bang for their bucks. (LAT)
Busting the Filibusters
It seems oddly appropriate that a Congressional tradition should have begun with pirates. But the Senate GOP is leveling its guns on the time honored tradition of the filibuster -- the power of the minority to talk a bill to death. Democrats have used it to block Bush administration judicial nominees. Republicans want to change the rules, calling filibusters "tyranny by the minority." The power of the minority party to use the filibuster was to prevent "tyranny by the majority" when Congress adopted it -- allowing an opposition voice to carry. (LAT)
Thursday, December 02, 2004
The President's Surplus
Just like his Democratic opponent, President Bush had a lot of left over cash after the election. He'll donate $11 million to the Republican Party and the White House Historical Association. Democratic challenger John Kerry also finished the race with around $15 million in left over cash.
Widow's Plight
When a Pepsi truck jumped a median and killed Robert Freeman two years ago, Uncle Sam slapped his widow in shackles and locked her up in a holding cell. Carla Arabella Freeman's only crime was that she was not born in America like her husband was. The red tape driven machinery of US immigration policy deports widows of Ameircans if the surviving spouse isn't a citizen. (WashPost)
Canadian Security Blanket
President Bush's security for his Canada visit is something our neighbors to the north have never seen before. The President's visit to Parliament included a 40 car motorcade, rooftop snipers, and lots of helicopter and fixed wing aircraft overhead. Canada is known for being pretty non-violent. Guess they were worried about hunting accidents. (Canada.com)
President Bush Pokes a Little Fun at Himself
While in Canada, President Bush has lamented that he hasn't gotten to personally thank "Prime Minister Jean Poutine" for his 2000 election endorsement. Poutine is a Canadian food -- not a former Prime Minister. Bush fell for a spoof in 2000 when a Canadian comedian convinced then-Governor Bush that Prime Minister Jean Poutine had endorsed him. (Toronto Star)
More Pulled Pork
More pork for you to chew on from Congress' spending spree this year. Pork is money Congressmen earmark for specific purposes in their home states or districts. It's money the President never asked for, Congress never debated, and money that's added in committee, behind closed doors.
- $25,000 to study Mariachi music in Las Vegas
- $80,000 for a San Diego hangout for gays, lesbians, and transgenders
- $100,000 for a museum dedicated to Punxsutawney Phil (the weather predicting groundhog in Pennsylvania)
- $175,000 for a therapy center -- for horses
- $3 million to help Alaska fishermen sell seafood
You Thought the Election Was Over?
There are still pockets of undecided elections, uncounted ballots, or unknown winners from the 2004 election scattered around the US. Washington State still doesn't know who will be the next Governor. In North Carolina, a computer glitch means thousands of voters have to vote again. Weren't we going to fix these problems after the 2000 election? (USAToday)
Savings Just Aren't in the Cards
A local TV news crew in St. Paul went shopping with one of those new discount prescription drug cards that's supposed to save money for folks on Medicare. They found the cards didn't help in 9 out of 10 cases. They even found that using the card can cost you 14% more than simply leaving it at home. (KARE-TV)
Tomorrow, Class, We'll Study the Stork and Cabbage Patch
Nearly $170 million of your tax dollars are paying for sex education classes laced with false, misleading, or distorted information. A Congressional review of abstinence-only sex education found such claims as:
- A 43-day-old fetus is a "thinking person"
- HIV can be spread via sweat and tears
- Condoms fail to prevent the spread of HIV 31% of the time in heterosexual sex
Other programs claim women who have abortions are more likely to become sterile or commit suicide. (Houston Chronicle)
Hey, They Caught Cat Stevens Didn't They
Osama bin Laden is still on the run, and the US may be looking harder for war protestors here at home than for terrorists abroad. The ACLU has filed an FOIA request at the FBI. They claim terrorist task forces are spending their time looking into the activities of anti-war protesters, animal rights activists, and other non-terrorists. They've also raised concerns that dozens of CIA officers have been assigned to help the task forces in the US. (USAToday)
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