So a new shadowy corporate-funded outfit has a hit on Bill Halter:
This group is apparently run by Mitchell Berry, the son of outgoing Rep. Marion Berry who is among Blanche Lincoln's biggest allies. The nut of the attack ad:
Wall Street has lost billions.
Yet some want to privatize social security and gamble our retirement on Wall Street.
Like Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.
As head of Social Security, called for investing a share of social security revenues in the stock market.
The ad cites the Philadelphia Daily News as the source of this claim. So we went and dug it up. It's from January 12, 2000. The relevant portion is here:
So President Clinton has gone back to Congress asking legislators to pass a solvency plan this year.
"Due to the baby boom generation, there will be a steadily larger population over 65," Halter said. Twenty percent of the population will be 65 or older in the year 2034.
As a result, Social Security trust funds are currently expected to be exhausted by that year.
Here's another way to look at it, Halter said. In 1960, there were five workers paying for the benefits of each Social Security recipient. Today, the ratio is 3 to 1. In 2034, it will fall to 2 to 1.
It's all putting a "record amount of stress" on the program.
"Solidifying Social Security" is Clinton's next big fiscal goal, said Halter.
Under the president's plan, interest savings on the national debt will go toward Social Security, helping to provide sufficient funds to the year 2050.
The plan also calls for investing a "small share of Social Security" revenues in the stock market, Halter said.
So
- Halter wasn't calling for privatization. He was explaining President Bill Clinton's plan. Are Blanche Lincoln's allies in Arkansas now ready to attack Bill Clinton for his stewardship of social security? It appears so.
- This wasn't "privatizing" social security, as Republicans were trying to do. This wasn't taking a portion of each individual's contributions to the system and investing them in the stock market. This was taking a portion of the social security surplus and sticking it in the market. That was still a stupid idea that didn't go anywhere, but again, was not "privatizing" it as the GOP was fighting to do.
But here's the thing -- maybe Mitchell Berry and his merry band of corporatist stooges should've done a little more digging on the issue. Because, it turns out, Blanche Lincoln was in favor of Bill Clinton's plan. From the October 11, 2000 edition of the Lincoln Journal Star:
"We should look at possible ways of investing some of the trust fund to bring us higher earnings, but not allow individuals to take a percentage of their payroll tax out of the fund," Lincoln said. "That could cause collapse of the system."
Turns out that Berry and his gang were (pretend) upset at the wrong person. Rather than cry about Halter, they should've focused their ad on the real culprits -- Bill Clinton and Blanche Lincoln.
