Wall Street STILL wants our Social Security

[eridani]

http://www.alternet.org/story/145896/wall_street_took_your_house_and_your_retirement%2C_now_they%27re_after_your_social_security

In addition to mandatory private health insurance premiums, we may soon be hit with a "mandatory savings" tax and other belt-tightening measures urged by the president's new budget task force. These radical austerity measures are not only unnecessary, but will actually make matters worse. The push for "fiscal responsibility" is based on bad economics

When billionaires pledge a billion dollars to educate people to the evils of something, it is always good to peer closely at what they are up to. Hedge fund magnate Peter G. Peterson was formerly chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations and head of the New York Federal Reserve. He is now senior chairman of Blackstone Group, which is in charge of dispersing government funds in the controversial AIG bailout, widely criticized as a government giveaway to banks. Peterson is also founder of the Peter Peterson Foundation, which has adopted the cause of imposing "fiscal responsibility" on Congress. He hired David M. Walker, former head of the Government Accounting Office, to spearhead a massive campaign to reduce the runaway federal debt, which the Peterson/Walker team blames on reckless government and consumer spending. The Foundation funded the movie "I.O.USA." to amass popular support for their cause, which largely revolves around dismantling Social Security and Medicare benefits as a way to cut costs and return to "fiscal responsibility."

[hobbit709]

1. Wall St can go intercourse itself.

"as a way to cut costs and return to "fiscal responsibility?"

$700,000,000,000 bailout is "fiscal responsibility?" bonuses at taxpayer expense is "fiscal responsibility?"

The only way these bastards will learn responsibility or anything else is after they're introduced to Madame Guillotine.

[DailyGrind51]

2. Now, if we could only get Republicans to campaign on privatizing Social Security,...!

[tech9413]

3. They still want my SS money to play in the WS casino?

Here's my answer. You take my SS to play fast and loose and I'll cash out all my other retirement accounts and leave you with a net loss. FU and the horse you rode in on. FOAD!

[Kievan Rus]

4. I thought Teabagger/corporatist types wanted to get rid of Social Security

Maybe that's just the most extreme of them. I know Joe the (phony) Plumber wanted to get rid of it.

[cornermouse]

5. They'll probably get it too.

After everything we've seen, do you really think anyone in D.C. is going to stop them?

[blindpig]

6. "Fiscal Responsibility"

It's for us, not for them.