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Helen Thomas: Privatizing Social Security Was An Idea Whose Time Never Came
Hearst Syndicate Chief Economic Analyst ^ | October 16, 2008 | Helen Thomas

Posted on 10/17/2008 1:04:43 PM PDT by presidio9

Has anyone heard conservative critics complain about “socialism” as they watch Uncle Sam partially nationalize some of the nation’s big banks with an injection of $250 billion?

President George W. Bush announced the desperate move -- which is completely alien to the free marketers of Republican Party -- and stressed that the government’s role would be limited and temporary.

The move still represents “corporate welfare,” long resisted, but now welcome by Bush and his conservative colleagues. The goal is to restore public confidence in our financial system.

The dramatic decision to have the public sector buy up part of the private sector ties in with the latest bank rescue plans adopted by European governments.

The two presidential candidates -- Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama -- are working to convince voters that they have the best solution to lead us out of the financial wilderness. Obama proposes to eliminate the income tax on unemployment compensation. He is also offering a 90-day moratorium on housing forfeitures.

Big deal.

For millions of jobless, it will take longer than three months to begin paying their delinquent mortgages.

The ball is now in both presidential candidates’ court. They have to propose relief for taxpayers, for the auto industry, and many others, to win votes in November. In Detroit -- my hometown and the center of the U.S. auto industry -- unemployment stands at 9 percent.

McCain told a rally in Pennsylvania this week that he would use tax cuts to create jobs. He also wants to make tax cuts for the super rich permanent.

The candidates should tear a page out of the New Deal blueprint for economic recovery by putting people to work repairing the nation’s infrastructure -- roads, bridges, harbors, and schools. The nation also should return to producing saleable items instead of outsourcing production -- and American jobs.

Funny thing is that the privatizers and promoters of the “ownership society” are strangely silent these days. They would be laughed off the stage with their traditional panaceas for the economic debacle we now face. I don’t know how many people have told me they are thanking their lucky stars that Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security was blocked. As it is, many of the elderly depend on that monthly check for survival.

Unfortunately, neither of the presidential candidates has shown “the way forward,” the oft-repeated Bush slogan. During the New Deal era, people were motivated by their dream of helping revive the promise of America. They came to Washington in droves -- teachers, social workers, engineers and artists. They were recruited for their skills and their dedication. Where are such people now?

President Bush can do a lot, even as a lame duck president burdened by low popularity polls. He should think twice about the legacy he is leaving his successor, especially in foreign policy. This is not the time to provoke new confrontations that can only burden a new president.

Bush is moving in the right direction by lifting the “terrorist” designation from North Korea and moving to establish a start-up diplomatic relationship with Iran. Perhaps it means that Bush is beginning to realize that leaving the American people with two wars is two too many.

Bush’s father, President George Herbert Walker Bush, ordered the invasion of Somalia in 1992 and left incoming President Bill Clinton holding the bag in the middle of a brutal civil war. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard M. Nixon departed their administration with plans for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba on the drawing board.

Their successor, John F. Kennedy, followed through with the plan to use Cuban defectors against Fidel Castro’s Cuba. We all know how that turned out.

To paraphrase philosopher George Santayana: If we do not learn the lessons of the past, we are bound to repeat them in the future.

Today we are learning that even in a free society, regulation of business and banks is not only needed, but also indispensable.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: helenthomas; seahag
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1 posted on 10/17/2008 1:04:43 PM PDT by presidio9
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To: presidio9

just wait for the govt to go broke and we’ll be dealing with zimbabwe dollars.


2 posted on 10/17/2008 1:06:54 PM PDT by ari-freedom (It's the socialism, stupid.)
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To: ari-freedom

3 posted on 10/17/2008 1:07:43 PM PDT by presidio9 (One day this economy is going to turn itself around, and the terrorists will still be there.)
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To: presidio9

Both parties deprecated the war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish,
and the photos of Helen Thomas came.


4 posted on 10/17/2008 1:07:59 PM PDT by tumblindice (#4 or 00 buckshot, decisions decisions...)
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To: presidio9

Cash me out.

I want back all my money plus interest compounded.

Then close the entire thing down.


5 posted on 10/17/2008 1:08:24 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: presidio9

Bush is a disaster. How could one man screw up so much. I now think he is a closet Marxist sent to destroy any belief in freedom in this country


6 posted on 10/17/2008 1:08:31 PM PDT by sickoflibs ( Obama : I will spread YOUR money around with 'tax rebates' to those not paying taxes)
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To: presidio9

Helen Thomas: “Has anyone heard conservative critics complain about ‘socialism’ as they watch Uncle Sam partially nationalize some of the nation’s big banks with an injection of $250 billion?”

Yes you bitter old *itch. Turn on talk radio. Rush, Laura Ingraham, and Michael Savage have all opposed it. The public resents the bailout too.


7 posted on 10/17/2008 1:08:41 PM PDT by weegee (In honor of Joe the Plumber, at noon, we should all lower our trousers to half mast.)
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To: presidio9

I know it is Halloween, but did you HAVE to show a troll?


8 posted on 10/17/2008 1:09:17 PM PDT by weegee (In honor of Joe the Plumber, at noon, we should all lower our trousers to half mast.)
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To: presidio9

Somehow Helen Thomas and Halloween just go together.


9 posted on 10/17/2008 1:09:34 PM PDT by Oldpuppymax (AGENDA OF THE LEFT EXPOSED)
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To: presidio9

Like so many other wanna-be brain trusts, poor Helen thinks a social security system that doesn’t accrue any interest on the contributions a person makes over their work lifetime, and pays out far more than the person pays in, is a marvel of efficiency.

Someone find Helen a couch. She must be tired after taxing her brain long enough to come up with that nonsense.


10 posted on 10/17/2008 1:09:57 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Is Obamanation what our founding fathers, our fallen men in combat, and Ronald Reagan had in mind?)
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To: presidio9

Helen Thomas & unidentified friend.

11 posted on 10/17/2008 1:10:44 PM PDT by DemforBush (I'm voting for Palin and that's all I got to say about that!)
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To: presidio9

Is Helen still alive or did she just come back to vote for Obama?


12 posted on 10/17/2008 1:10:55 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (I'm just going to spread YOUR wealth around - Barack HUSSEIN Obama.)
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To: presidio9

What the hell does she think Social Security is? It’s an entitlement, and entitlements are socialistic programs. What a jerk.


13 posted on 10/17/2008 1:11:01 PM PDT by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: presidio9

Helen Thomas....a reporter....whose time never came....


14 posted on 10/17/2008 1:11:18 PM PDT by illiac (If we don't change directions soon, we'll get where we're going)
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To: presidio9
The candidates should tear a page out of the New Deal blueprint for economic recovery by putting people to work repairing the nation’s infrastructure -- roads, bridges, harbors, and schools. The nation also should return to producing saleable items instead of outsourcing production -- and American jobs.

I am actually in favor of repairing the infrastructure and having people work and I am also definitely in favor of the United States producing THINGS instead of outsourcing production (particularly technical components necessary for national defense).

A very rare moment of agreement with the old bat.
15 posted on 10/17/2008 1:12:17 PM PDT by Arkinsaw
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To: presidio9

Romantic involvement with Helen Thomas is another idea whose time never came.


16 posted on 10/17/2008 1:12:33 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine (Is /sarc really necessary?)
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To: weegee

Oh, come on....we all know you came here for pictures! ;)


17 posted on 10/17/2008 1:13:03 PM PDT by derllak
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To: presidio9
Has anyone heard conservative critics complain about “socialism” as they watch Uncle Sam partially nationalize some of the nation’s big banks with an injection of $250 billion?

Yes, you fetid old whore. Get out of your echo chamber once in a while.

18 posted on 10/17/2008 1:15:04 PM PDT by Sloth (Pontius Pilate voted 'present'; Barrabas was community organizer.)
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To: BenLurkin
Cash me out.

I want back all my money plus interest compounded.

Then close the entire thing down.



Yes, the privatization plan would simply bubble the stock market with social security (tax) dollars. Better than turning it into an IOU, but still dangerous.

Your suggestion is the best one. Just stop taking the money and start paying it back. I would be satisfied with just the principal even if I didn't get interest.
19 posted on 10/17/2008 1:15:06 PM PDT by Arkinsaw
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To: BenLurkin
Cash me out.

I want back all my money plus interest compounded.

Then close the entire thing down.

Forget about being cashed out. I would come out way ahead if I could just get out of the system right now, keep my 15.3% in taxes I pay every year and abandon what I already put into Uncle Sam's Super Lucky Pyramid Game.

20 posted on 10/17/2008 1:15:23 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (Obama: Spread the Wealth = Marx: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs)
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