Greenspan: keep working to fund Bush's war and tax cuts

[jmknapp]

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. (Reuters) - Rising pressure on U.S. finances from an aging population makes it vital to fix the social safety net soon with steps such as raising the age for full retirement benefits, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Friday.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/27/news/economy/greenspan.reut/index.htm

This could be Bush's achilles' heel. Do the math:

The SS fund is in dire trouble due to Bush's crashing of the economy, tax cuts, and Iraq adventurism. Current SS beneficiaries will not be affected, but Greenspan wants to head off the coming baby boom wave and keep them working. After crashing the economy (poverty rates ballooning) the GOP wants to reward itself by fulfilling their 70-year goal of killing SS. No dice! It is time for them to go!

There are about 31 million people in their 50s right now in the US.

The baby boomers are just the vanguard of the demographic wave. There are actually more people in their 40s: 42 million, and 43 million people in their 30s.

In terms of voters, each of these groups have different voting rates:

20s: 36% * 38 million = 14 million votes
30s: 49% * 43 million = 21 million votes
40s: 58% * 42 million = 24 million votes
50s: 64% * 31 million = 20 million votes

So 20 million voters in their 50s, starting to eye retirement, are seeing it slip away due to Bush's massive budget deficits and the need to cover same by gutting SS and Medicare. Get thee to the polls!

The SS fund is not a zero-sum game. During the Clinton boom, the fiscal health of the SS fund was pushed out many years due to increased revenues. Further, in an economy with lots of jobs, "retirees" can and will find work, continuing to pay into SS. Only with the current Hooveresque economic policies has the crisis returned with such a vengence.

Hopefully Kerry will play this to the hilt.

[swag]

1. Greenspan is still a true Ayn Rand cult-member, I see

though he has a very stealthy way of destroying the US government.

Recommended Reading:


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812693906/qid=1093643797/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-2323191-1096819?v=glance&s=books&n=507846#product-details

[bryant69]

2. I don't know

This could go both ways; the Republican plan of selling personalized retirement accounts (or taking money from social security and giving it to Stock Brokers), might attract some foolish people. Dick Armey, at Salon, suggested this might be the "big issue" that President Bush hammers on during the convention.

How many of those older voters are going to be swayed by this possibility?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[jmknapp]

3. In this stock market?

Armey has to be kidding. This argument only flew before the dot-com crash.

[PA Democrat]

4. Yes Alan, keep redistributing that income upward

Force those working stiffs to labor until they drop dead. We must not take too much tax money from those who are wealthy enough to live a life of leisure.

[jmknapp]

5. It's a faith-based economy

Them that's got shall get
Them that not shall lose
So the bible says
And it still is news

Billie Holiday

[rfkrocks]

6. Kick this article!!!

The GOP seeks to completely destroy the New Deal and screw all working and middle class folks who paid into the fund-Why is this not a big statement-Greenspin will hide the fact that Shrub has stolen the retirement fund of America-just like Enron did to their employees