After punching “Fleming vs Nestor” into google (from the Republican talking point doc linked at TPM), I found something odd.
Uncle Scam
Do you believe everything you read on the web? I’m not going to say this is true or this is false, but it’s interesting reading either way.
The Club for Growth (a conservative 527 org) has a blog for dispersing “information” on Social Security reform and I found an entry with an interesting quote:
It has long been one of my primary examples when advising my clients, readers and audiences of why it is extremely dangerous to trust our financial future to our rulers in DC. What sound like great tax and retirement savings plans today, such as Roth IRAs, can be changed at any time by our rulers and they are rarely, if ever, taken to task for their violations of such agreements.
So, essentially, whatever you may or may not have doesn’t really matter, because when the Social Security Trust Fund goes belly up (because the US Treasury decided to default on its’ bonds), the rulers in power at the time are just going to change the law and start taxing all these things that were promised to be “tax-free” or “tax-deferred”? If that’s the case, why on earth would we want to start to contribute to private retirement accounts that the government is just going to change the rules on later? Shouldn’t you be advising clients to keep cash under the mattress and stockpile gold bars?
Not to mention the fact that no one has come forth with anything even remotely resembling an actual plan or even details.
And, why does every debate have to have someone that tries to play the race card?
Why do I feel like I’m on a playground at recess with a group of second graders? “Spongebob is gay! Spongebob is gay!”
Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob’s creators had enlisted him in a “pro-homosexual video,” in which he appeared alongside children’s television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a “tolerance pledge” that includes tolerance for differences of “sexual identity.”
(Use this Google link to get the article without registering)
Update: And the BBC has picked up the story as well.
Update (1/21): CNN is on the bandwagon too.
This blog has some good ideas, but something is off-kilter with his message. Compare and contrast:
I don’t like the idea of forced savings, period
and
But what I think most people can get around is that a system that allows people, especially lower-middle- and lower-class people to conserve some capital over time is a good thing, regardless of any other ideological/political affiliation.
So, you are against forced savings, but for those unfortunate poor people, it’s okay for the government to force them to save something to pass on to their heirs? Anyone else see a double standard there? (This was linked off InstaPundit, so I shouldn’t be suprised that it’s got me worked up.)
I’m opposed to the “reform” of Social Security to turn it into a government-sponsored financial industry support program, which is what the nebulous “private accounts” appear to me as. Just imagine the management fees fund managers can collect on even 1% or 2% of the total Social Security tax intake.
The other thing that really piques my interest is how Bush trotted out the “compound interest” argument:
…a personal savings account which will compound over time and grow over time; a personal savings account which can’t be used to bet on the lottery, or a dice game, or the track. In other words, there will be guidelines. There will be certain — you won’t be allowed just to take that money and dump it somewhere. In other words, there will be a safe way to invest, to be able to realize the compounding rate of interest.
So, if Joe Q. Public takes his $1/week and sticks it in an account that returns, lets be generous and say 10% compounded monthly, he’s going to get a higher return than if all the $1/week contributions get lumped together into one account? If you buy that as the truth, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
I’m not 100% sure what my stance on forced savings is, but anyone who earns enough and is eligible should be contributing to a tax defered retirement plan, be it a 401(k), 403(b) or some IRA variant. Or multiple ones if you can so afford.
Looks like retiring congressman Billy Tauzin got a job with the industry he used to regulate. What an odd occurance. I bet nobody else does this.
When former party honchos turned gasbag talking heads are smashing eggs on their faces and making cracks about gay governors on national television, something is wrong. I just hope that no one was actually watching the sunday morning gasbag shows.
And, isn’t it suprising that the rats are running off the ship like it’s sinking? Hmm, can anyone say “lucrative consulting jobs with goverment contractors and think tanks”? Maybe Gen. Powell is just looking for a way to get his self respect back.
Josh Marshall, over at talkingpointsmemo has some good thoughts on all this.
Following the theme of everyone else, go vote today.
Update:
One small observation from my polling place this morning: Unless you are personally willing to volunteer as a poll worker, don’t complain that things are moving slowly. In my particular precinct, we’ve had a good sized population increase in the last four years, but no one is ever sure of how good turn out will be until the day comes. So, preparing for the rush of voters before work, at lunch, etc is hard to do. 40 minutes out of this one day seems pretty small compared to the impact it could have over the next 4 years.
Also, if you are unsure of your polling place, you should have looked before today, but if you didn’t don’t get mad at the volunteer for sending you someplace else.
I’m still mulling over some other observations, but for now, that is all.
In case you didn’t see it, here’s a roundup of the various links to videos and transcripts:
Videos: