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They've...Stopped...
Thinking About Tomorrow
Government/Frank
Salvato, Managing Editor |
February 11, 2005
- If you ever needed proof that the Democrats were
playing obstructionist partisan politics you need look no further then their
leadership, both past and present. While Senator Harry Reid and
Representative Nancy Pelosi extol the evils of personalizing Social Security
some troubling words have been found in the history books and the news files
that should paint their faces a pristine shade of crimson, and it’s not
because they just got back from Alabama.
Recently, Reid, the Senate Minority Leader, made a statement that rang
ominously through the halls of Capitol Hill. When asked about the
president’s suggestion that those in the American workforce under the age of
55 be allowed to invest a percentage of their Social Security payroll
deduction in personalized retirement savings accounts – it is our money
after all – Reid, steely eyed and resolute said that the president should
forget about it. He stated firmly and with conviction, "It isn’t going to
happen.”
That’s a very different tune from the one he was singing in 1999.
During an interview on Fox News Sunday in February of that year, Reid said,
"Most of us have no problem with taking a small amount of the Social
Security proceeds and putting it into the private sector.”
So, has the financial landscape changed so dramatically between 1999 and
2005 that what was then a grand idea is now the most irresponsible idea ever
floated by a sitting president? Hardly. It is more likely that the
Democratic strategy for the 2006 mid-term elections is to keep those
infected with the "hate-Bush” mentality – a symptom of which is an affinity
for not researching the facts further than Dan Rather’s crack production
staff – stoked to a fevered pitch. When dealing with such a fickle group it
is easy to present half-truths, weighted facts and with the prowess of a
deranged dominatrix, playing on constituents’ emotions with flat-out
obstructionism.
Nancy Pelosi was reminiscent of Muhammad Ali recently with her bobbing and
weaving when asked about specific Democratic alternatives to the president’s
suggestions. On ABC ‘s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Pelosi again
whined about a moot point pretending that it was a real issue. This time it
was about having a "seat at the negotiating table.” Of course, this just
shows that her comments are carefully scripted. In his State of the Union
speech, President Bush said of his efforts to reform Social Security, "I
will work with members of Congress to find the most effective
combination of
reforms. I will listen to anyone who has a good idea to offer.” How Pelosi
equates that to not having "a
seat at the negotiating table” is beyond the
rational mind. Frankly, it lends to the suspicion that the Democrats won’t
sit "at the negotiating table” under any circumstances.
A recent report in The Hill suggested that Congressional Democrats have
decided against introducing any alternatives at all to the president’s
Social Security plan, opting instead to continue on their obstructionist
course. One senior Democratic aide is quoted as saying, "Coming out with
details of what we would do is irrelevant. Why take the criticism without
the result?” Because it’s your job! Ray Charles, God rest his soul, could
see that Democratic obstructionist politics, championed by Pelosi and Reid,
are trumping the good of the people.
The simple fact of the matter is that Democrats don’t want to see our
government move forward. They are happy with the status quo. It pleases them
that we have become a dependent country, feeding out of the trough of
entitlement. A dependent voter must rely on the government for their own
wellbeing thus making the right candidate for the job the one who creates
the most social programs. The key word here is "social” as in socialist. A
nation dependent on its government for its wellbeing is tantamount to a
socialist nation and that, alarmingly, seems to be the goal of the
Democratic Party. The last thing today’s Democratic leaders want is a
self-sufficient, informed voter base, because such a base would value
self-reliance, civic responsibility and a decreased need for government
entitlement programs. Barring pork barrel spending, entitlement programs are
how Democrats justify their existence.
Franklin Roosevelt’s vision of Social Security differed greatly from what
Congress enacted in 1935 and what Democrats want to maintain today.
Roosevelt’s plan called for three provisions: 1) a system of old age
pensions, 2) a system of mandatory old age annuities (what we now know as
Social Security) and 3) a system of voluntary old age annuities (what
President Bush is proposing as personal savings accounts). Of the third step
Roosevelt said, "It is proposed that the Federal Government assume one-half
of the cost of the old-age pension plan, which ought ultimately to be
supplanted by self-supporting annuity plans (emphasis added)." Roosevelt’s
original one-half the cost is quite a bit more extensive than the 4 percent
personalization that President Bush is proposing.
After President Bush’s State of the Union Address, Pelosi, Reid and the
"Entitlement Democrats” stood at the FDR memorial, behind his statue
and tried to sell the American people the product of misinformation;
partisan propaganda. They said President Bush and the Republicans were doing
great injury to FDR’s program. In reality, when familiarized with the facts,
it is the Democrats who are trying to destroy the whole of a program
originally crafted to establish self-sufficient Americans and eliminate
reliance on government. The cross the obstructionist Democrats have to bear
is that they do so purely for political gain. The question is, do they care?
Related Reading:
Reid’s American Promise – No Plan Except More Democrat Obstructionism
http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=pipenews1.1.24.05.htm
For Now, The Dems Will Offer No Social Security Reforms
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/020805/020805_reforms.html
President Bush’s State of the Union Address
http://www.gop.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=5118
Research Note #15: The Roosevelt Administration’s Proposal for Voluntary
Annuities
http://www.ssa.gov/history/voluntaryannuities.html
1935 Administration Economic Security Bill
http://www.ssa.gov/history/pdf/fdrbill.pdf
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