Social Security thoughts
Long time, no post. Can I ever keep a regular schedule with this?
Social Security is an issue that should be a slam dunk for the Democrats. They created it, and it's basic premise--creating a safety net for the middle and lower classes--is one of the party's basic principles. It's a popular program, and is one of the staples of FDR's enduring legacy.
Conversely, it is this sort of thing that the Republicans are strongly against. They want things to go back to pre-FDR (Great Depression, anyone?) because it means more money for their wealthy supporters. Everything they are for is for more money for their wealthy supporters--tax cuts, wars, defense spending, cheap labor, lax regulations, a rampant free market. They play like they are the everyman with their "moral values" b.s. along with giving out "free" money with tax cuts (yeah, you get a $300 check, but watch healthcare premiums and your children's college tuition, to take just two things, skyrocket) but this is just a ploy to get the rubes (I've been using this term a lot lately, in honor of HST, who's left the rest of us alone to battle our nimwit society) in middle America to ignore the big, complicated questions (e.g, I know that deficits are bad for our long-term outlook, but how do you explain this to the average person?) and vote against their own interests.
It seems, based on polling and the general feel I get from the news, that the Republicans are going to lose this one and not get their privatization reform. Don't count on it. Count on enough lame-ass Democrats (Biden, Liebermann, etc.) to bitch and complain yet still vote for it. Count on, if there's another terrorist attack, it being slipped in on pages 6317-6402 of Patriot Act II: The Wrath of Khan. When it's discovered after the Senate passes this bill 99-1, it'll be left in in the name of fighting terrorism.
Once again, we should win this battle. Just like the last election. But we won't. We neglected this democracy too long and now, it is working against us. Maybe when we all retire, cat food will come in easy opening, space-age pouchs.
Social Security is an issue that should be a slam dunk for the Democrats. They created it, and it's basic premise--creating a safety net for the middle and lower classes--is one of the party's basic principles. It's a popular program, and is one of the staples of FDR's enduring legacy.
Conversely, it is this sort of thing that the Republicans are strongly against. They want things to go back to pre-FDR (Great Depression, anyone?) because it means more money for their wealthy supporters. Everything they are for is for more money for their wealthy supporters--tax cuts, wars, defense spending, cheap labor, lax regulations, a rampant free market. They play like they are the everyman with their "moral values" b.s. along with giving out "free" money with tax cuts (yeah, you get a $300 check, but watch healthcare premiums and your children's college tuition, to take just two things, skyrocket) but this is just a ploy to get the rubes (I've been using this term a lot lately, in honor of HST, who's left the rest of us alone to battle our nimwit society) in middle America to ignore the big, complicated questions (e.g, I know that deficits are bad for our long-term outlook, but how do you explain this to the average person?) and vote against their own interests.
It seems, based on polling and the general feel I get from the news, that the Republicans are going to lose this one and not get their privatization reform. Don't count on it. Count on enough lame-ass Democrats (Biden, Liebermann, etc.) to bitch and complain yet still vote for it. Count on, if there's another terrorist attack, it being slipped in on pages 6317-6402 of Patriot Act II: The Wrath of Khan. When it's discovered after the Senate passes this bill 99-1, it'll be left in in the name of fighting terrorism.
Once again, we should win this battle. Just like the last election. But we won't. We neglected this democracy too long and now, it is working against us. Maybe when we all retire, cat food will come in easy opening, space-age pouchs.
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