"Stupid is as stupid does."
Posted on 02/04/2005 1:39:21 PM PST by Graybeard58
The Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address gave most Americans their first good look at new Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. They had to come away unimpressed by his diatribe and annoyed by his shamelessness.
Sen. Reid pitched the same tired, government-centered, anti-business, anti-taxpayer, entitlement-laden Democratic platform that voters rejected anew in November. He spoke in code to Democratic special interests. He even invoked God to try to trick Americans into believing the party of secularists had found religion on religion.
But it was his demagoguery of Social Security reform that stood out: "(I)t's more like Social Security roulette.
"Democrats are all for giving Americans more of a say and more choices when it comes to their retirement savings, but that doesn't mean taking Social Security's guarantee and gambling with it. And that's coming from a senator who represents Las Vegas."
Gambling and investing are similar only in that people put up their money in hopes of making more money. But they present two distinctly different sets of risk. In casinos, people bet on games of chance in which the odds are stacked against them. They are largely the beneficiaries or victims of luck and in the long run are going to lose money because they can't control the cards they're dealt or the dice they roll.
People investing some of their Social Security taxes in stocks, bonds and mutual funds would be able to control their risk to a great extent and determine with some degree of certainty their rates of return over extended periods. Inexperienced investors could put their money in U.S. Treasury bonds, which pay guaranteed rates double or triple those offered by Social Security. People seeking better returns can put their money in mutual funds that invest in blue-chip companies. But highly speculative investments that might wipe out retirement savings would be prohibited.
The process is expected to be similar to the employee-directed 401(k) plans that are allowing tens of millions of Americans to build secure retirements independently of Social Security. And under the Bush reforms, should people under Social Security die prematurely, the money in their personal accounts would go to their heirs instead of the government.
Investing is not a sure thing, but it must be pretty darn close because in Sen. Reid's most recent financial-disclosure form, it took him 13 pages to account for all the securities and real-estate interests he held or traded in 2003. As a senator, he also is saving for his retirement through the Thrift Savings Plan, which offers only six options, including three mutual funds that invest in U.S. companies and a fourth that gambles on highly speculative foreign stocks.
Sen. Reid has become wealthy and is building a secure retirement through stocks, bonds and mutual funds, but he wants to saddle most Americans with the risky Ponzi scheme that is Social Security.
The real Social Security gamble is to do nothing, let the system go bankrupt and leave current and future retirees with nothing.
Daschle -light - funny
Daschle-loonier - priceless
I got the warm & fuzzies listening to his (fake) tale about the skateboard kid who wanted to be like Harry....
Gosh, he cares!
The "old down home" story sounded like it was crafted by Gephardt.
You mean Dickie "my dad was a milkman" Gephart is a ghost writer for John "my dad was a millworker" Edwards and Harry "my dad worked the hard rock mines" Reid. Nah
Plus ca change, plus c'est la mem chose...JFK
I agree. He is a frail-minded man. Has he been asleep for several years? The Democrats woke him up to be the minority leader, and he's been confused since.
Don't insult (the late, great) John Carradine by including him in the same sentence with slimey Reid. Carradine had class (a Shakespereian scholar, too, I believe) - - - his somberness was a theatrical put-on. Off-screen he was quite lively, as I've heard.
As stated by a fellow Freeper yesterday....the dimms have replaced the undertaker with the grave digger.
i thought reid was that phantasm guy, he just
cut his hair for his DUmmie response gig. now its back to propelling orbs at unsuspecting people in an attempt to
bring them over to the dark side.
L8R
Reid looks like he just stepped out of "American Gothic". If I could Photoshop I would put his and Pelosi's faces in that picture and title it stuck in the 30's.
"Stupid is as stupid does."
Hey don't insult poor Angus Scrimm 
your right. my bad. angus looks much better. :-D
At least Angus doesn't wear Lipstick
1. He was born in Searchlight, Nevada.
2. His father was a hard rock miner.
3. His mother took in laundry for a little extra money
4. He eats at the Nugget in Searchlight
5. He played on the dusty streets of Searchlight as a child
6. etc. ...
For six months before the November election we Nevadans were flooded with radio, TV, and print ads including those biography talking points. What a hoot!
Absolutely! Las Vegas is a blob of blue in a sea of red. Real Nevadans are buckaroos, ranchers, military personnel, construction workers, American Indians, retirees, mechanics, .... Without the massive amounts of money from the Casinos and several unions Harry Reid would actually be living full time in Searchlight, Nevada, and eating at the Nugget.
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