A year ago, he had capital to spend. This year, it’s a footnote in his speech:
Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security, yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away and with every year we fail to act, the situation gets worse. So tonight, I ask you to join me in creating a commission to examine the full impact of Baby Boom retirements on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This commission should include Members of Congress of both parties, and offer bipartisan answers.
A “commision” to study it? What is the sound of a dream dying?
What about going to Mars. C’mon, Mars, bitches!
UPDATE: George Bush has the amazing ability to prompt “I know he didn’t just…” moments. I had one of those where he says in effect, “Yeah I spied on Americans without a warrant and I’ll do it again… because, well, just because”.
Oh no he didn’t.
UPDATE 2: We’re going to cut the deficit in half by 2009? You know it was zero before you got into office, right George?
Fred Barnes, who knows a bit more about President Bush than you, Oliver, wrote this in today’s OpinionJournal
How can he fight for the destruction of Social Security when he has to shepherd the passage of an important bill banning human-animal hybrids?
Yes, Fred Barnes is much more qualified than I to write a 224 page love note to George W. Bush (then again, Barnes’ relationship with the facts can at best be described as “casual”). There is no opportunity to privatize social security. I doubt a lot of the will and the backbone of the Democrats, but I’m 100% certain of that. And the amount of Republicans who are willing to put their neck on the chopping block to kill S.S. dwindles every day.
I’d like to see which of the ‘08 Republican presidential candidates will rush to announce their support for privatizing social security.
Not everyone rush at once. We’ve got a “commission” to study it.
LOL.
Love the doublespeak: “Social Security will cripple us in the future — make tx cuts permanent!”
“We’re fighting terrorists in the Middle East so we don’t have to fight them at home — but we are all in constant danger of being attacked!”
He gets an B- for at least feigning an attempt to fix SSI.
But he gets an F for pandering to the greedheads who can’t
wait to get their mitts on that bread so they can ‘churn n’ burn’
the untutored and gullible. Wall St traders would love some more
sheep to sheer.
If Congress had not started borrowing from the SS surplus every year for over 40 years, there would be trillions of dollars available now, and instead of people trying to live on $500-800 a month, there would be enough for people to draw $2500-4000 a month now. The only way to fix SS is for Congress to pay back all those IOUs by raising income taxes and all other taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes, capital gains taxes and Soc Sec taxes. If they do not, then Soc Sec will be there only for the very needy. And in the future I can just see Bush saying, with that smart aleck looking smirk on his face, well I tried to fix Soc Sec back in 05.
The real problem is that social security was designed to kick in for people who lived LONGER than average. I think the average lifespan for a male back then was about 63….
My favorite part of the SOTUS was when the democrats all applauded themselves for preventing any reform of a system that on its current course, is doomed to fail….have you seen any major democratic options yet?
Hmm, I didn’t think so…
Brand Democrat: “No Solutions, Just Opposition”
Also, if there is no surplus soc sec money for Congress to borrow, they will have to raise other taxes drastically anyway to fund all the programs they think are necessary. They will not cut spending.
Yes. Raise the Soc Sec tax from 6 to 12 percent. Employer would have to match the 12 percent for a total of 24 percent. That way two workers could support one retiree. Another option is the Fair Tax. Do away with IRS and income tax and raise the federal sales tax to 15 percent. That way everyone who spends money would be paying taxes, not just the people who work. Also, until the national debt is 0, raise gasoline taxes as much as needed and then the tax can be adjusted on a yearly basis to balance the budget. That would force people to conserve and be more fuel efficient. The elimination of income taxes would stimulate the economy tremendously. New car sales would go thru the roof. I am single, make $65,000 a year, and I pay $9,000 fed tax, $3800 soc sec tax, and over $5000 state income tax. I could almost pay cash every year for a new car with that.
interesting idea a national sales tax.
The problem is, it is regressive. Poor people have to eat too, and that 15% that they spend just on necessities makes up a much larger percentage of their income, compared to say, George Soros. Ditto a gas tax….-
When you double the SS tax, business start firing people and you get unemployment, and underemployment (see european welfare states for an example.).
I guess you think it is fair to tax the middle class working people 35 per cent of their income while the poor and the rich get off without paying income tax. Bush is trying to make the massive tax cuts on the rich permanent. So that would cause the workng middle class taxes go up even more than they are now. Makes you want to go out and get two more jobs and work 100 hours a week so you can pay your bills and your taxes just to keep the IRS off your back. Last year I sent the IRS a check for $6000 on April 15. I got a letter about a month later tellng me that they were charging me $134 penalty because I was not having enough money with held from my paycheck. So now I am having an extra $600 a month taken out of my paycheck. The taxes I pay, fed income tax, state income tax, soc sec tax, federal state and local sales taxes, property taxes, gasoline taxes, and taxes on telephone and electric bills all total over 50 per cent of my salary. That is more than I pay my house payment, car payment, house insurance, car insurance, and health insurance.
As far as the Fair Tax law, it is written to help the lower income people by sending them a check each month that will more than cover their sales taxes. A sales tax of 25 percent would fund all federal spending including social security and national health including free prescription drugs. And that 25 percent could be flexible according to whatever the surplus is from one year to the next.