Posted on October 7th, 2008 at 7:13 pm by Steve
Back in 2005 – flush from their success at stealing winning another election – the Bushies set out their plan to “Strengthen” Social Security:*
As we fix Social Security, we must make it a better deal for our younger workers by allowing them to put part of their payroll taxes in personal retirement accounts… The money would go into a conservative mix of bond and stock funds that would have the opportunity to earn a higher rate of return than anything the current system could provide… Best of all, it would replace the empty promises of the current system with real assets of ownership.
If you’re reading this blog, you probably know what’s coming next. From the AP, via MSNBC:
Americans’ retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion — or about 20 percent overall — in the past 15 months, Congress’ top budget analyst estimated Tuesday.
*The phrase “Strengthen Social Security” should be interpreted similarly to Bush’s “Clear Skies” and “Healthy Forests” initiatives, which, respectively, allowed more pollution from coal plants and increased timber company logging in National Forests.