Mitch McTerrapin lies on MTP and David Gregory doesn't challenge him.

[Cleita]

Mitch says a report last week from the CBO says that Social Security is in terrible trouble. David Gregory lets him blather on and doesn't challenge him to present his sources for that remark. I go to the CBO website and the most current item they have published is this in on the director's blog dated October 22, 2010 in which he summarizes the latest study and that is not last week:

http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=1498

As detailed in the first eight exhibits, CBO projects that:

Over the next few years, the program’s tax revenues (that is, the trust funds’ receipts excluding interest) will be approximately equal to its outlays. However, starting in 2016, as more of the baby-boom generation enters retirement, outlays as scheduled under current law will regularly exceed tax revenues. As a result, under current law, both trust funds will gradually be depleted.

The DI trust fund will be exhausted in 2018 and the OASI trust fund will be exhausted in 2042. It is a common analytical convention to consider the DI and OASI trust funds in combination. CBO projects that, if legislation to shift resources from the OASI trust fund to the DI trust fund was enacted, as has been done in the past, the combined trust funds would be exhausted in 2039. However, because of the uncertainty surrounding the various factors that affect the program’s revenues and outlays, that date could vary quite a bit.

The resources dedicated to financing the program over the next 75 years fall short of the benefits that will be owed to beneficiaries by about 1.6 percent of taxable payroll. In other words, to bring the program into balance over the next 75 years, payroll taxes would have to be increased immediately from 12.4 percent to 14.0 percent and kept at that higher rate, or the benefits specified in law would have to be reduced by an equivalent amount, or some combination of those changes and others would have to be implemented.

But ole Mitchy makes it sound like we won't get to 2012 without "fixing" (meaning privatizing) the program.

So it seems disability is in trouble in 2018 and old age retirement is in trouble in 2042 and if you combine the trust funds, which probably will happen they will be in trouble in 2039 and NOT BEFORE! We have plenty of time to fix that before then by either increasing the FICA tax to 14 percent as suggested by the director or raise the cap on the wealthy which has been suggested as well. So people we are in good shape!

Please write MSNBC that David Gregory is not prepared to challenge these assertions by his lying guests and should be replaced maybe by Lawrence O'Donnell who really will wring the truth out of them. Here is a link to their contact information:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Make that DAVID Gregory

I happen to admire Dick Gregory. The NBC butt monkey David Gregory? Not so much.

[Cleita]

2. Thanks I will correct it. I was hot under the collar. n/t

[Cirque du So-What]

10. Actually, I think 'Dick' is a good name for him

but, as I say, there's already a Dick Gregory who's a helluva good guy.

[xchrom]

3. +1

[underpants]

7. Actually I like that. Great nickname for him David (but you can call him DICK) Gregory

:bounce:

[Cleita]

9. I think that was my freudian slip.

:rofl:

[Ian David]

4. To be fair, D.J. Dancing David Gregory wasn't listening. He was thinking about his next question.

You know, to make sure he looks smart.

[underpants]

5. No surprise. A few weeks ago Harry Reid was on and Gregory and there was this

DAVID GREGORY: Social Security-- how does it have to change? What they put on the agenda is raising the retirement age, maybe means testing benefits. Is it time for Social Security to fundamentally change if you're gonna deal with the debt problem?

HARRY REID: One of the things that always troubles me is when we start talking about the debt, the first thing people do is run to Social Security. Social Security is a program that works. And it's going to be-- it's fully funded for the next forty years. Stop picking on Social Security. There're a lotta places--

DAVID GREGORY: Senator are you really saying --

HARRY REID: --where you can go to save money.

DAVID GREGORY:-- the arithmetic on Social Security works?

HARRY REID: I'm saying the arithmetic in Social Security works. I have no doubt it does.

DAVID GREGORY: It's not in crisis?

HARRY REID: The ne-- no, it's not in crisis. This is-- this is-- this is something that's perpetuated by people who don't like government. Social Security is fine. Are there things we can do to improve Social Security? Of course.

DAVID GREGORY: Means testing. Raising the --

DAVID GREGORY:--retirement age--

HARRY REID: --don't--

DAVID GREGORY: --do you--

HARRY REID: --I'm--

DAVID GREGORY: --agree with either of those?

HARRY REID: --I'm not going to go to with any of those backdoor methods- you know, to whack Social Security recipients. I'm not going to do that. We have a lot of things we can do with-- this debt. It's a problem. But one of the places where I'm not going to be part of picking on is Social Security.

http://theview.abc.go.com/forum/harry-reid-arithmetic-social-security-works-its-not-crisis?page=2

[Cleita]

8. Yessch! We need someone else.

Any of the other hosts would be better. If not Lawrence, Rachel or Ed would do better, much better.

[underpants]

11. MTP always goes to the current White House correspondent

that means that David (you can call him DICK) Gregory who has YEEEEEEEEEARS to go would be replaced by Chuck Todd.

[Cleita]

6. MSNBC is rerunning MTP right now if you want

to hear what was said.

[Cleita]

12. If this had been Rachel and not him, she would

have said when he said that, "I have the lasted CBO study on Social Security in front of me and this is what they say." Then she would read it off and ask him where the study was he cited from last week because she wasn't able to obtain it although she contacted the CBO about it and they don't know anything about it. That would have let the air out of his tires.