a valid question...

[acroyear]

"if Social Security privatization is supposed to be about making "younger workers" better off, as Bush has said, will he please explain why piling yet more debt on their backs should make them grateful?" -- Editorial on Social Security reform at the 'Post.

Comments

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

4) certainly the use of the phrase "i'm not making this up" is a tell-tale sign (i read it as such when i first saw it). that phrase is used repeatedly by pundits on both sides (Rush and Coulter love it, as does Franklin but he wouldn't admit it). and both sides generally get the analysis they're "not making up" from someone who (guess what?) made it up.

better to include more citations (or do your own damn analysis if that's what you're paid to do) than to just leave a few things unreferenced (or to have the references be out of date, as you noted). Yes, Bush said he wouldn't do the deficits he's doing, and yes maybe his administration feels its necessary since the 1-2 of dot-bomb + 9-11 changed the economy (and tax income even before the 2nd round of cuts) rather drastically. but 9-11 as an excuse is only going to last for so long...

i don't think it was as necessary to run up the debts he's running and i certainly don't understand how the numbers got so drastically bad. Personally, i'm guessing that adjusting for inflation or comparing as percentage of the GNP, FDR's deficits were likely worse, though so was the economic situation.

back to Mr. Dionne, I also had a problem with the phrase "since Bush hasn't been punished so far..." implies that the deficit is criminally wrong, or at the very least, that Bush was being a naughty boy when he started it. its an emotion-inducing statement that has no real meaning in government. the only "punishment" would have been not being elected or for congress to call him on it and come up with a budget without those deficits (technically, its their job). neither happened.

now, it would have been different if Graham-Rudman had any teeth to it, but it didn't, so it doesn't.

correction

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

I meant "Franken" not "Franklin".