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« Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 419 -- Stem Cell Research & NIH Funding. | WILLisms.com | Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 420 -- Carbon & Economy. » Social Security Reform Thursday: Week Seventy-Two -- Huge Portion Of The Federal Budget.![]() Thursdays are good days for reform, because they fall between Wednesdays and Fridays. That's why WILLisms.com offers a chart or graph, every Thursday or so, pertinent to Social Security reform. This week's topic: We Need Solutions, Not Max Baucus. Some distressing news out of Congress, from Amy Ridenour's National Center blog: Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has announced he is refusing even to hold hearings on President Bush's nominee, Andrew Biggs, to be the #2 official at the Social Security Administration. What's so fascinatingly ridiculous about this decision is a comment from Baucus in his press release on the subject (.pdf): "It’s time to move on to a real discussion about the long-term finances of Social Security and the Federal budget.” Okay, yeah. But you are ending real discussion by not even having a hearing on Andrew Biggs. And you've already ruled out tax increases and benefit cuts. So... that basically leaves personal accounts. But you've ruled them out, too. Yeah. It's just embarrassing. I really feel for anyone in the White House or Congress trying to do serious work on Social Security reform. Just a reminder of the size of Social Security, take a look at the outlays in the 2006 budget, found in the recently released Economic Report of the President (.pdf): ![]() Meanwhile, we're still being robbed. Each of the Thrift Savings Plan options (what personal accounts would be patterned after) is-- again-- up from last week, all while Social Security inches closer to insolvency. Max Baucus, thief. We deserve a better deal. We deserve personal accounts.
Previous Reform Thursday graphics can be seen here: -Week One (Costs Exceed Revenues). Posted by Will Franklin · 15 February 2007 07:23 PM Comments"Real" discussion apparently means something different to Democrats. Posted by: Assistant Village Idiot at February 15, 2007 10:11 PM I watched Chairman Bernanke, gavel-to-gavel, before the House Banking Committee today. I could wax long on the quality of the interlocuters' questions, but for brevity's sake will stick with wondering when if ever does a congressman realize how dumb he is? Posted by: buddy larsen at February 15, 2007 11:01 PM There are three ways to fix Social Security: reduce promised benefits, raise additional taxes, or save money today to pay benefits tomorrow. But Baucus said he'll do it without accounts, tax increases, or benefit cuts. Then Baucus says he won’t consider the nomination of Andrew Biggs to be deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. So under Baucus’ chairmanship we can’t talk about solutions and we can’t talk to people recognized by both parties as experienced, knowledgeable and reasonable. Basically we can’t talk. So while serious minded politicians and policy experts beg for a discussion with “all options on the table,” the Mad Hatter sits at his tea party and says to Alice, “you shouldn’t talk.” Posted by: Olivia at February 16, 2007 09:11 AM |