Social Security "Crisis "as unreal as WMD's in Iraq

I am going to ask ahead for your indulgence for this relatively short diary.  I have not posted since the election (in which I poured my heart and soul) because I have been working almost 7 days a week since.  And the only reason I am home today is I have a 101 degree fever.

But there is an easy meme or slaogan I think we should use in the Social Security privatization debate ( which will really destroy social Security)

THE "CRISIS" IN SOCIAL SECURITY IS ABOUT AS REAL AS THAT IRAQ HAD WMD'S.  GEORGE BUSH IS JUST AS WRONG FLOGGING THIS FAKE CRISIS AS HE WAS TELLING US ABOUT THE DANGER OF MUSHROOM CLOUDS COMING FROM SADDAM HUSSEIN'S IRAQ.

Simple slogan.  It already plays on something most of the American public understands i.e. that htere were no WMD's in Iraq.  And , secondarily, it puts George Bush's motivation and judgement in doubt and back into play as a topic for the media to discuss.

What do you folks think?

I will try to check this post out periodically.  

•  Yes. Exactly.

  I've been thinking along these lines, even as I also think, "Why is it so hard for the leading Democrats to come up with simple, catchy slogans and analogies and metaphors? This is a simple, slam-dunk rhetorical ploy. And it's double-edged. And it has the advantage of being true, for God's sake!"

  by Dan Perreten on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 10:32:26 AM PDT

•  Hey, that's really good!

  I agree, that's a great, simple statement.  It isn't everything, but it's a bunker buster of a reminder about the overarching themes of Bush's presidency: deception and incompetence.

  Now if only we could get some decent talking heads repeating this statement on TV 24-7...
  

  by Damek on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 10:38:48 AM PDT

•  Problem ...

  Many folks think there WERE WMDS in Iraq.  

  Many folks think Iraq sponsored those planes on 9/11.  

  The republican machine has been quite successfull in spreading its version of the story.

  We lost the information war on Iraq.  We shouldn't hitch our Social Security wagons to the same dead horse.

  We need everyone ot hear us on Social Security, not just the anti-war folks.  There are quite a few moderate Republicans on the fence - we should not scare them off onto the wrong side.
  

  by super ju on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 11:18:57 AM PDT

  •  I thought about that

    But over time it has become accepted wisdom and particularly media wisdom that Iraq having WMD is just not true.  I don't see this as just appealing to anti war proponents.  Even those who think we should be there to bring democracy, acknowledge that Iraq had no WMD's

    Moreover the media thinks that there never were any WMD's, even the Foxophiles.

    I think it is short and to the point and makes clear to the press esp. the trumped up nature of this fake  "crisis"  

     

    by debcoop on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 11:53:25 AM PDT

•  Slogan for Social Security

  This is a great pithy statement...now how are we going to get some notable Dem to use it?  

  by SusanEinChicago on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 11:19:32 AM PDT

•  RECOMMEND THIS DIARY

  Recommend this diary.

  by mysteve on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 11:33:00 AM PDT

•  it's good

  I like it. Now it needs to be spread around to the general public. Saw a news item today that Bush is planning a "media blitz" on Social Security.

  by chantedor on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 11:41:22 AM PDT

  •  media blitz

    Here's the link about Bush's planned media blitz. He says he's going to keep the figures deliberately vague. But of course . . .

    http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041222/ts_nm/bush_socialsecurity_dc_2

    by chantedor on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 12:11:52 PM PDT

  •  Dem blitz?

    Will our side blitz him back? We really need to fight fire with fire on this point. Can't keep silent on this issue, or he'll brainwash the sheeple into believing his propaganda.

    by chantedor on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 12:13:15 PM PDT

•  wmd and the crisis

  in mere 50 years?

  You know, if we would not do anything, and Saddam would be getting eviler and eviler, and the American productity growth getting slower and slower, be would have two crises on our hand.

  About the latter: clearly, the "pro-growth tax reforms" that have yet to come can gut whatever growth we have.  OTOH, with meager productivity growth, bot SS and the stock market is in trouble.

  Amateur economic modelling:

  on the first approximation, it is plausible that while the wages will be stagnant and the revenue of SS will be increasingly inadequate, the profits will grow robustly, so what workers will loose in their wages they will recoup in the capital gains.  Hence (a) the forecast of SS deficit and (b) the forecast of good returns in the stock market.

  one the second though, what we see is that an increasing portion of what would be company profits goes to "motivate" the management.  If we extrapolate the trends of the last 10-20 years, in 50 years the notion of profits will be a thing of the past; instead the management bonus will be equal to the pre-bonus profit of the companies.  Stocks will be worthless.

  by Piotr on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 01:22:48 PM PDT