author of ''The Plot Against Social Security'' on AAR now

[Gabi Hayes]

Josh Marshall on the book/author, who's the business columnist from LA Times

(June 10, 2005 -- 11:24 PM EDT // link // print)
I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I hadn't heard of this book before today. But it's one I'm certainly interested in reading and one I imagine a lot of TPM Readers would be too. Please note, I have not read the book yet. So I can't say it's a recommendation per se. But I want to bring it to your attention.

It's called The Plot Against Social Security : How the Bush Plan Is Endangering Our Financial Future. And it just came out in May.

It's by Michael Hiltzik, a business columnist for the LA Times.

Here's part of what Publishers Weekly said about it ...

A Pulitzer Prize–winning financial journalist for the Los Angeles Times, Hiltzik gathers arguments made by a plethora of economists and skeptics into a comprehensive, biting critique of the privatization agenda and what he calls the "astroturf" alliance of right-wing ideologues, Wall Street opportunists and Republican political operatives that "aims to propagate, and then exploit, public ignorance." Prophecies of the Social Security trust fund's bankruptcy, he finds, are based on dubious and politically biased forecasts; more realistic projections have the trust fund growing nicely over the next 75 years. Even if doomsayers' predictions come true, he notes, the system's solvency can be safeguarded by straightforward fixes; simply lifting the cap on Social Security taxes—thus taxing high-income workers at the same rate as everyone else—would make up Bush's projected shortfall and then some, he says.
Sounds about right to me.

Late Update: TPM Reader DE sent in this note this morning: "I just finished reading The Plot Against Social Security, and it is an excellent book. A good background on the origins of the program, some depth on the phony assumptions that go into the pessimistic forecasts, what's behind the push for privatization, and some suggestions for truly helping social security. An easy and very educational read."

Later Update: And now TPM Reader NG chimes in: "Hiltzik's columns in the LATimes are uniformly excellent--he's been a must-read for me ever since he covered the supermarket strikes here. He deals with workers with real understanding."



he completely undercuts all the lies being told by the * junta

TPM has a good, concise description of why SS 'reform' may be on its last legs, starting with the {June 09, 2005 -- 12:53 PM EDT} post. It goes into compelling logic, concisely expressed for your own discussions with freepster types, on how the Far Right intends to do away with SS, their real goal, given the likely prospect of losing their other objective of private accounts

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_06_05.php

this guy Hiltzik is GREAT, btw

very simple analysis, easy to understand, well put together

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Heard the in terview. Sounded great. A great gift...after reading it .

;)

[Gabi Hayes]

3. It really was excellent, and Sam Seder is fast becoming a radio

giant

he does his homework, grasps difficult issues, and condenses them into usually easily understandable portions

and he's very funny most of the time, as well

more on this book:

''Relentless and ominous, the drumbeat echoes across the land: Social Security is on the verge of bankruptcy. The warning has been repeated so often that it has become a dismal article of faith for the millions of Americans who pay Social Security taxes and expect to collect benefits someday.

But it is flatly untrue. Social Security today is as financially strong as it has been in decades. Despite its relative good health, however, it is facing the most dangerous political challenge to its existence since its birth
70 years ago.

The Plot Against Social Security explains who is really behind the efforts to "reform" this system and shows that the most frequently proposed fix -- diverting a huge portion of its assets into private investment accounts -- will damage it beyond repair, undermining retirement security for generations of Americans. ''

why haven't I ever heard of this guy, much less seen him on as a talking head anywhere? as a writer for the LA Times, you'd think he might get some sort of exposure

but, wait, he's not a wingnut lying shill, so they have no use for him in the liberal media

sorry

[ailsagirl]

2. Thanks for the heads-up !! n/t

[Gabi Hayes]

4. he was very good, and I hope he gets more airtime

WHY HAVEN'T the Dems taken some of this info, and SHOUTED IT FROM the ROOFTOPS?

great soundbit material here, which is the only way to get messages across anymore

when will the Achordate Party learn this?

take a meme and repeat it endlessly....why don't they grasp this simple fact?

that's how the fascists came to power in the 20s, and how they did it here, beginning in the 80s, after the brief Carter interregnum