Snow sees US Social Security legislation by summer

[UpInArms]

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=8052777

BISMARCK, N.D., March 31 (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Thursday he expects the U.S. Congress to consider legislation on overhauling Social Security by the summer, after which the window of opportunity may start to close.

"This issue is now teed up, it's ready to be resolved," Snow told a group of business leaders at a breakfast meeting in Bismarck, North Dakota.

"By this summer we'll see legislation really starting to take shape that will lead to a permanent fix to this serious national problem," Snow told the group.

<snip>

On Thursday, Snow said any new government borrowing needed to set up the private accounts would be relatively small "given the size of the capital markets of the United States and the world" and would be easily absorbed by the market.

Snow said last month that about $750 billion would need to be borrowed in just the first 10 years.

...more...

[whistle]

1. Over Snows stone cold corpse!

[papau]

2. need to be borrowed is one trillion min and approaching $2 trillion in 10y

but who is counting - when Snow says a lie does the media check to see how he gets that number.

Hint - he assumes that a lot of folks choose to not start a private account

If private accounts are a great idea, why assume folks will not start them?

[shoelace414]

3. Great..

then we need someone to put it on paper and send it to Congress. perhaps.. the president could do that.

[jojo54]

4. $759 billion????

$750 billion????

$750 BILLION????

Now, all of a sudden the window of opportunity is closing?!?!?!?!?!? Clinton tried fixing this so called "crisis" in the 90's but got shot down every time from the repuke controlled houses. So now they want to make a major issue out of it.

Unf__kingbelievable.

[gratuitous]

5. Far out! Now, all we need is a plan . . .

Heck, Snow isn't going to be running for election next year. I'm sure there will be no problem with the Republican leadership which is beginning to treat this whole hare-brained stunt like something it scraped off the bottom of their shoe.

[Gunit_Sangh]

6. The spin on $750 billion

I believe I read somewhere the reason this number is so low is that it will take at least 3 years to get the computer systems (longer imho) ready to handle private accounts. This way they can spin the 10 year cost into something lower than it actually is.

They did the same for the pharmeceutical relief act of 2003 (Medicare drug bill)

[gratuitous]

7. Yep, they only estimate the first 10 years of costs

And conveniently forget everything after that. But it's okay to project social security benefits costs out to eternity and then yammer about the massive shortfall.

You know, if I just counted the mortgage payments I'll be making on my house in the next 10 years, I wonder if the lender would be upset that I claimed complete ownership at that time? I mean, if this kind of new math works for our trusted public officials, it should be good enough for me, right?

[Hobarticus]

10. The Rapture will have occurred by then, y'see...

So none of this will matter.

[tanyev]

8. You consulting your Magic 8 Ball for that, John?

[MidwestTransplant]

9. Snowy day in hell

[yellowcanine]

11. Snow job by the snowman. He has no political savvy at all. This proposal

is in a persistent vegetative state and the feeding tube will be pulled as soon as Bush finishes with his little "ownership society" tour.