Flashback: Kuttner warns us about President's plans for Social Security

[Enrique]

Robert Kuttner is interested in protecting Social Security, he's not just bashing presidents.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/12/24/bushs_ownership_scam/

Bush's 'ownership' scam
By Robert Kuttner, 12/24/2003

IN PRESIDENT Bush's upcoming State of the Union address, we will hear a lot about something called an "ownership society." The idea is that American workers aspire to be owners -- of stock for their retirement, homes, businesses, good health insurance, and skills they need to navigate multiple changes of jobs and careers. It sounds just great.

Take a closer look, however, and you will recognize the trademarked Bush combination of inspiring themes coupled with an absence of useful tools. In other words, bait and switch.

Recent examples include No Child Left Behind (millions were); the Medicare drug bill (covers less than half the costs and mainly subsidizes drug companies), and, of course, three tax breaks that went mostly to the wealthy. But I digress.

How does Bush propose to create this "ownership society?" Mainly through more tax credits. If people lack reliable health care, there are tax-favored savings accounts to buy health insurance. If corporations are abandoning good pensions, there are new tax incentives to set aside retirement savings. If jobs are precarious, there are tax credits to purchase retraining when your job moves to China.

(...)

[emulatorloo]

1. Do you remember how pissed off people got at Bush over this?

Nobody liked it, not even the craziest of Republcan voters.

Current Polling:

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/new-poll-dire-results-if-social-securit

Overall, of the 1,200 likely voters surveyed, 82% of respondents oppose Social Security cuts to reduce the deficit, including

83% of Dems,
78% of Independents,
82% of Republicans, and
74% of Tea Party supporters.

[Enrique]

2. but it came close to passing

the dems had to filibuster it.

AARP fought hard against it, and other activist groups. Their fighting affected those poll numbers.

If Obama is the one pushing it, it might be more popular than when Bush was doing it. We might even have people here at DU pushing it.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. If Obama begins to push for it....

You can be sure that many people on DU will be pushing it too, saying it's necessary for deficit reduction and we all need to make sacrifices.

I just hope Obama isn't dumb enough to commit that kind of political suicide.

[emulatorloo]

5. In the unlikely event Obama suggests this, it is possible that Republican Operatives would infiltrat

infiltrate DU and say that sort of thing. Just to try to divide and demoralize everybody.

Now if Obama finds ways to make the system operate more efficiently with less overhead, that is a different thing. Some on DU will be claiming he is cutting social security. Just as Republicans claimed in attack ads that he was "cutting Medicare" when he targeted medicare provider fraud.

[emulatorloo]

4. I am not big on "Obama's Secret Plans" or "What Obama Secretly Wants" threads

And just for practical matters no politician of any party is going to push for cutting Social Security in 2012. It is political suicide.

(Maybe Rand Paul, he seems to get away with that kind of shit)

[Aramchek]

6. somewhere, over the rainbow...