Jackson Free Press

According to the Sun Herald George W. Bush will speak today around noon at the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, where he's expected to address "fixing the hole in the safety net" of Social Security, according to press secretary Scott McClellan.

The group Americans United To Protect Social Security plans a press conference at 2pm today by Mississippi AFL-CIO president Robert Shaffer at the AFL-CIO office on West Street to release a report detailing the effects of Bush's social security privitization plan on senior citizen poverty levels and the Mississippi economy.

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"Mississippi AFL-CIO president Robert Shaffer at the AFL-CIO office on West Street to release a report detailing the effects of Bush's social security privitization plan on senior citizen poverty levels and the Mississippi economy." Considering their actions locally, politics never cease to amaze me!

tortoise

May 3 2005

I know: Shaffer endorses Melton who voted for his "good friend" George W. Bush (or at least told the North Jackson ladies he did). Dizzy, yet?

DonnaLadd

May 3 2005

A friend called to say the motorcade just ran up Lakeland, so he shouldn't be here long. Like him or not, it's really cool to watch those motorcades come down the road. I had the pleasure of having the President speak at a location I worked at before I came back here. It is intense - all the activity and buzz! But, yeah, my head is spinning!

tortoise

May 3 2005

is it coincidence that all this is playing out on election day? a presidential visit that SERIOUSLY clogs up the streets around lunchtime?? the AFL-CIO endorses melton and now gets a chance to piggy-back on an appearance by our cowboy-king-savior and stump for SS reform?? ... all the republicans who are voting democrat today will surely have their consciences assuaged by this bizarre turn of events. especially since melton ain't no democrat. good grief.

Jay

May 3 2005

Interesting piece today by Robert Reich (a little short and brusque but, hey, it is USA Today.) His thesis: SS reform is DOA, so why does Bush still flog it? Because he doesn't want to talk about the real issue -- healthcare. Here's the money: [quote]"Consider the symptoms. Medicare, the government's health care program for the elderly, is heading toward bankruptcy faster than Social Security. Its future unfunded liabilities are seven times larger. Social Security is projected to be in financial trouble in four decades; Medicare, within 10 years. Medicaid, the government's health care program for the poor, is also in trouble. Its costs are rising so fast the White House and congressional Republicans want to whack it by $10 billion over the next five years. But governors [Ed note: Ahem...] don't want Medicaid cut. States pick up half its cost. If the feds bow out, states will have to make up the difference. [/quote] IF a state decides to try to fund Medicaid, that is, and if they aren't headed by former GOP Party chairman, perhaps. Meanwhile, here's an argument I've been trying to make. Reigning in healthcare costs would be *good* for American business, not bad... [quote]"The last symptom is the huge financial burden on companies that can't shift rising health care costs onto employees because of union contracts. For example, every car General Motors produces costs thousands of extra dollars because of GM's health care tab. Health care is the single most contentious labor-management issue today.[/quote]

Todd Stauffer

May 3 2005

oh, this SS program gets better all the time...for those w/ little time, i'll give you the Bush Social Security Plan--short version: *Cut the hell outta everyone's benefits. if you're poor...less so. ------ This was Bush's way of re-directing his Social Security program that has already proved unpopular? ...Now, for those keeping score, the bush plan not only costs TRILLIONS of dollars more than the program we have now, but it ALSO will have fewer benefits! What's not to love!?!

jp!

May 3 2005

You are so right, jp. Bush likes to preach about this so-called crisis with Social Security, yet the plan he has proposed (whichever one it is this week) does NOTHING to fix the solvency problem. I, myself get very confused when trying to sort out all these messages and numbers that are supposed to helps us understand the deal with Social Security. A great article yesterday on Common Dreams that spells things out in a very straightforward manner. Watching and listening to Bush talk makes me nauseated. Knowing that he was actually here in town, just a few miles down the road, made it even worse.

kp

May 3 2005

You are so right, jp. Bush likes to preach about this so-called crisis with Social Security, yet the plan he has proposed (whichever one it is this week) does NOTHING to fix the solvency problem. I, myself get very confused when trying to sort out all these messages and numbers that are supposed to helps us understand the deal with Social Security. A great article yesterday on Common Dreams that spells things out in a very straightforward manner. Watching and listening to Bush talk makes me nauseated. Knowing that he was actually here in town, just a few miles down the road, made it even worse.

kp

May 3 2005

the purpose isn't to fix anything. it is to roll money into the pockets of those handling private investments, and cut back on benefits. when people ask 'how can we do this AND have these tax cuts?" they miss the point. you CAN'T. the idea is to HAVE a deficit and THEN say 'welp, we just have to tighten our belts and cut the program down'. its their plan with cutting everything. you can't just CUT, people will lose their minds...BUT if you can create a deficit or 'insolvency' then that's the excuse. you have created a (worse) problem to fix, and whatayaknow? the BEST idea to fix it is to start cutting it away. the question is never how to fix it (that's why bush doesn't address THAT w/ his plan). it's how to CUT it.

jp!

May 3 2005

Bush Pitches SS Plan in Canton Today I always figured that when the time came, they'd keep the storm-trooper plans secret. Sorry, I'm feeling a bit giddy today in spite of Jackson's primary results.... Best, Tim

Tim Kynerd

May 4 2005

(VERBATIM PR from Keelan Sanders at Mississippi Democrats -- www.msdemocrats.net) For Immediate Release: May 4, 2005 In Mississippi 375,949 Seniors Would Lose an Average of $236 per Month if Bushís Plan Were in Place Today Conservatives Agree: Progressive Indexing Guts Middle Class Jackson, MSñ Last Thursday, President Bush took to the airwaves during prime time to add a new wrinkle to his Social Security privatization scheme: progressive indexing. Progressive indexing would cut benefits for middle and high-income workers, slashing the retirement security of workers that make as little as $25,000.00 per year. According to a report released by Americans United to Protect Social Security, If Bush's plan were in place today, 70 percent of workers would have their benefits cut including 375,949 Mississippi seniors, who would see an average cut of 28 percent. Their monthly check would be slashed by $236.00. "Democrats are working to get rid of Social Securityís long-term solvency challenges," said Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Director, Keelan Sanders, "George W. Bush and the Republicans are just focused on getting rid of Social Security altogether. Progressive indexing would make Social Security a burden on the middle class without the retirement security it was meant to provide. Mississippi workers deserve better." Leading conservatives agree that by slashing the hard-earned guaranteed benefits of middle class retirees, progressive indexing would turn Social Security into a "welfare program" that would no longer serve as a safety net for Americaís middle class. Adding to the cacophony of dissent from the Presidentís own allies, conservative stalwarts Sen. George Allen (R-VA), and columnist George Will acknowledged the Presidentís plan for what it really is this weekend: a plan to gut Social Security and unravel what has been the most successful program of its kind. GOP Senator George Allen: Progressive Indexing Hurts "Middle-Income Working People" On "Meet the Press", Republican Senator George Allen said that he opposed the concept of progressive indexing for Social Security because it would "reduce the retirement security for those particularly middle-income working people." (NBC, 05.01.05) Conservative Columnist George Will: Social Security Would Become "Less Relevant" On "This Week", conservative columnist George Will said that progressive indexing of Social Security would "stigmatize" the program by directing it at lower income seniors ñ at the expense of middle class workers ñ "making social security less and less relevant to a majority of the American people." (ABC, 05.01.05)

Todd Stauffer

May 4 2005

Progressive Indexing would make Social Security an "Empty Shell" "But critics, including most Democratic lawmakers, say that such an approach would undermine a central bargain conceived during the New Deal: that Social Security is not just a welfare program for the poor but a form of social insurance that people at all income levels pay into and reap rewards from. "'Social Security is not a poverty program, it is a retirement system people have worked hard for, paid into and have earned,' said Representative Sander M. Levin, Democrat of Michigan. If it becomes increasingly irrelevant for middle-income people, the critics warn, Social Security will eventually become little more than an empty shell." [NYT 5.01.05]

Todd Stauffer

May 4 2005

AP today: President Bush is pushing for dramatic changes to the nation's policy on Social Security at a time the public is grouchy about the nation's direction, skeptical about his proposed solutions and sharply divided along partisan lines, an AP-Ipsos poll found. [...] Six in 10 disapprove of the president's handling of Social Security after Bush spent the last two months campaigning across the nation for the changes. [...] Bush's job approval is at 47 percent with 51 percent disapproving, and his approval on areas like handling Iraq, the economy and assorted domestic issues is in the low 40s. People are about evenly divided on his handling of foreign policy and terrorism. Talk about buyer's remorse.

DonnaLadd

May 6 2005

I never bought it for a minute! ;)

jp!

May 6 2005