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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: redfish who wrote (11034)	3/22/2005 12:14:32 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 361058

Blame Bush, Not Baby Boomers, For Empty Social Security Trust Fund,' Says Author of 'The Looting Of Social Security' Monday March 21, 9:06 am ET WINTER HAVEN, Fla., March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- "The baby boomers have contributed more to Social Security than any other generation," says economist Allen W. Smith. "They have prepaid the cost of their own retirement, in addition to paying the cost of the generation that preceded them." Smith points out that the baby boomers have kept their end of the bargain, which was proposed by the Greenspan Commission and enacted into law in 1983. "The higher taxes that were part of the 1983 'solution' to the baby boomer problem have generated the annual Social Security surpluses anticipated so far, and they will continue to do so until 2018," Smith said. According to Smith, by 2018, the baby boomers will have paid enough extra taxes to have generated a $3.7 trillion reserve in the trust fund, which would be sufficient to pay full benefits until 2042 when the youngest of the boomers would be 78 years old. "Our government should be thanking the baby boomers for their extra sacrifice and special contributions," Smith continued. "But instead, President Bush is trying to use them as scapegoats for the government's failure to save and invest the Social Security surplus." Smith says that when it became public knowledge in 2000 that President George H.W. Bush had initiated the practice of spending Social Security surpluses for other programs, and that Clinton had continued that practice, protecting the Social Security surplus became a major campaign issue. According to Smith, Al Gore promised to put all future Social Security surpluses in a "lockbox" to be used only for the payment of Social Security benefits, and candidate George W. Bush promised to do the same. "More than $600 billion of Social Security surplus has been generated since the 'lockbox promise' went into effect," Smith said, "so there should be at least that much in the trust fund today. But President Bush says the lockbox holds nothing but empty promises." "How can this be?" Smith asked. "Bush's promises to protect Social Security were clear and specific." According to Smith, Bush stated in his radio address to the nation on February 3, 2001, "My plan will keep all Social Security money in the Social Security system where it belongs." And, in his February 27, 2001 State of the Union address, Bush said, "To make sure the retirement savings of America's seniors are not diverted in any other program, my budget protects all $2.6 trillion of the Social Security surplus for Social Security, and for Social Security alone." "Despite these promises, President Bush has been raiding the trust fund since he took office," Smith said, "and he no longer tries to conceal what he has done. In an effort to muster support for his privatization proposal, he has been openly admitting to the raiding of the fund." Smith said that President Bush first publicly acknowledged misusing Social Security money in a Washington speech on February 9, 2005, in which he said, "The money-payroll taxes going into the Social Security are spent. They're spent on benefits and they're spent on government programs. There is no trust." "There may be 'no trust' when it comes to Bush's handling of Social Security money," Smith argued, "but there most certainly is a trust fund. That fund is empty today because President Bush has used the money to pay for tax cuts, the war in Iraq, and many other programs. So, instead of trying to blame the baby boomers for Social Security's current problems, Bush should stop spending Social Security money on other programs and repay the money he has already spent." biz.yahoo.com

To: redfish who wrote (11034)	3/22/2005 12:16:25 PM
From: Knighty Tin	Respond to of 361058

If Jesus returned, Karl Rove would kill him: freepress.org

To: redfish who wrote (11034)	3/22/2005 12:22:02 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 361058

Best one I have seen is my folks'; specifically acknowledges that death may occur from starvation, dehydration, asphyxiation, or over-medication. Doesn't leave much to doubt, unless one fambly member is not only not reading from the same paragraph as everybody else, but is in the other room watching "Mucus Welby, MD" re-runs on TV. In the event of just old -age creeping up on you, rather than an acute event, it is also good to post a copy of the advanced directive where emergency respondents can see it. Also, with your doc, and in your hospital records, if you have them. Rat

To: redfish who wrote (11034)	3/22/2005 1:16:01 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361058

That blowing your brains out is so messy! You won't care, but how thoughtless for the person who has to clean it up. Hunter Thompson should be ashamed - especially with his extensive drug knowledge. I intend to follow Hunter some day, and die on my own terms. Discussing this with a friend who had been an EMT, he told me that if he wanted to "check out", he'd overdose on tricylic antidepressants - having seen so many who had. These are of a type like the brand name Elavil. They preceeded the current generation. A simple overdose, you go peacefully to sleep, your heart stops and you never wake up. Available without prescription in any Mexican pharmacy, and very cheaply too. tinyurl.com "It is the cardiac effects which make the tricyclics so dangerous in overdose. Taken at one time, a one-to-two-week supply can cause serious, potentially lethal, cardiac complications. Tricyclic antidepressants are now the leading cause of death by drug overdose in the United States. It is ironic that such effective medications for conditions which often involve serious suicidal intent have such potential lethality."