Category Archive

The announcement will be at 1 pm today (ET).  Apparently, the backlash has been too great, and Facebook is going to fix it for the better: (CNN) — Facebook, in a rare move, is expected to reverse itself Wednesday on changes to privacy settings after sustained backlash from users worried about how their private information is being used. The announcement, … Read More

When George Bush and Republicans talked about privatizing social security a while back, they were talking about putting it in the hands of Merrill Lynch, Citibank, and the other financial geniuses behind the current economic crisis. Aren’t we glad we didn’t do it?

Even as Bush is going out trying to sell gullible midwesterners about how grrrrreat it would be if Social Security were nothing but private accounts, the United States government’s social security website clearly indicates how ill-advised Bush’s scheme is: Q: I think I could do better if you let me invest the Social Security I pay into an Individual Retirement … Read More

The good news is that Bush’s social security privitization scheme hasn’t worked.  The better news is why it hasn’t worked.  Jon Chait explains: The main reason is that the public is not quite as selfish as the conservatives thought. The privatizers’ weakest assumption turned out to be their belief that the elderly would support privatization if they knew they wouldn’t … Read More

From The American Street: Next time you hear some trained Bush monkey echo Bush talking points and claim that the Social Security trustfund is stocked with nothing but a bunch of worthless “IOU’s,” pull out a $20 bill like this one: A worthless IOU. Explain to them that if the United States Bonds and Treasury Bills that make up the … Read More

Yglesius gives George Will the heel of his boot on social security: George Will, like many other conservatives, is positively irate that old people won’t get behind the president’s plan even though the president has promised not to cut their benefits. In response, it’s worth noting first and foremost that senior citizens may have concerns about this subject other than … Read More

… because I oppose Bush’s privatization of social security idea.  Well, that’s what the President says.  Pretty amazing.  Here’s what he said yesterday: And so there are guidelines as to what you can invest in. I was being somewhat facetious on the lottery — but really not. There’s a proper risk reward, a portfolio that will allow you as a … Read More

From the Washington Post: The Senate’s top Republican [Bill Frist] said yesterday that President Bush’s bid to restructure Social Security may have to wait until next year and might not involve the individual accounts the White House has been pushing hard. …."In terms of whether it will be a week, a month, six months or a year, as to when … Read More

And badly.  It seems the more he talks about "fixing" Social Security, the less convincing he is.  Some leader.  Some mandate. And who is telling us that Bush is actually losing support on Social Security, the more he talks about it? Our friends at Gallup: Only one in three Americans approve of President Bush’s handling of Social Security, his lowest … Read More