Mr. Bush the Salesman
Dear Editor:
President Bush is criss-crossing the nation hawking his plan for “privatization” of Social Security, based upon his assumption that this 70 year old safety net for the elderly is “going bust” and we have to change the way it operates. Of course, as of late, he is changing the tune a little and saying that this is only part of the solution. But, let’s look at his record on this kind of approach to convince America.
Three years ago we were told, very specifically, that we must have a preemptive war against Iraq because they were a threat to our freedom due to their ability to hit us with Weapons of Mass Destruction. We were doomed if we waited for a “mushroom cloud” to appear over our country and the cost of doing nothing was much greater than the undisclosed cost of a war. Even though this was sold to the public, the Congress, and the United Nations as a grave threat, we now know that the WMDs did not exist and America came out with egg on its face even though Mr. Bush now claims that the “real” (adjusted) reason for losing 1,400 plus lives of American fighting people was to spread democracy. But the fact remains that the president and his advisors were either incompetent or lying.
Next came the Medicare Drug Benefit bill that Mr. Bush touted to America, which would solve the rising cost of prescriptive medicine for seniors. He promised Congress, and us, that the cost would not exceed $400 billion. Two months after traveling the country convincing the public the need for this drug company slanted bill and pushing it through the Senate and the House, we found out that the real cost estimate was way in excess of $500 billion. And now, a year later, we know the true cost, if it holds at this, will be over $700 billion. Once again the president and his advisors were either incompetent or lying.
So now we come to the president’s sales pitch on his Social Security plan that he claims will even out in cost over a long period of time even though it will require borrowing trillions of dollars in the short term. If this is passed, will different numbers appear a year from now? Will the president and his advisors once again prove to be either incompetent or liars? Based upon their history, the odds are good for that happening.
Mr. Bush and company must think the American public is pretty stupid. After all, with his record didn’t he get reelected?
President Bush is criss-crossing the nation hawking his plan for “privatization” of Social Security, based upon his assumption that this 70 year old safety net for the elderly is “going bust” and we have to change the way it operates. Of course, as of late, he is changing the tune a little and saying that this is only part of the solution. But, let’s look at his record on this kind of approach to convince America.
Three years ago we were told, very specifically, that we must have a preemptive war against Iraq because they were a threat to our freedom due to their ability to hit us with Weapons of Mass Destruction. We were doomed if we waited for a “mushroom cloud” to appear over our country and the cost of doing nothing was much greater than the undisclosed cost of a war. Even though this was sold to the public, the Congress, and the United Nations as a grave threat, we now know that the WMDs did not exist and America came out with egg on its face even though Mr. Bush now claims that the “real” (adjusted) reason for losing 1,400 plus lives of American fighting people was to spread democracy. But the fact remains that the president and his advisors were either incompetent or lying.
Next came the Medicare Drug Benefit bill that Mr. Bush touted to America, which would solve the rising cost of prescriptive medicine for seniors. He promised Congress, and us, that the cost would not exceed $400 billion. Two months after traveling the country convincing the public the need for this drug company slanted bill and pushing it through the Senate and the House, we found out that the real cost estimate was way in excess of $500 billion. And now, a year later, we know the true cost, if it holds at this, will be over $700 billion. Once again the president and his advisors were either incompetent or lying.
So now we come to the president’s sales pitch on his Social Security plan that he claims will even out in cost over a long period of time even though it will require borrowing trillions of dollars in the short term. If this is passed, will different numbers appear a year from now? Will the president and his advisors once again prove to be either incompetent or liars? Based upon their history, the odds are good for that happening.
Mr. Bush and company must think the American public is pretty stupid. After all, with his record didn’t he get reelected?
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 7:25 AM
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