O'Reilly lies - says Bush SS optional w/ current Bene's unchanged

[papau]

if that is what a person wants.


FOX News host Bill O'Reilly claimed that liberal opposition to President Bush's Social Security reform plan is irrational because under Bush's proposal "people who don't want" to divert their payroll taxes into private accounts will "still ... get what the government promises 'em." In fact, while Bush has not yet laid out a specific plan, his administration has indicated that all beneficiaries will face substantial benefit cuts compared to what current law promises, and those who choose to set up private accounts will face additional cuts in guaranteed benefits beyond that.

"Model 2" from Bush's 2001 Commission to Strengthen Social Security, widely expected to form the basis of the reform plan Bush will propose (see here, here, here, and here), involves a benefit cut for all beneficiaries. This cut will be the result of changing the formula used to calculate initial benefits so that initial benefit levels are set according to the rate of inflation, not according to the rate of wage growth during a worker's lifetime, as under current law. But those who take the option of diverting some payroll taxes into personal accounts will face an additional cut in guaranteed benefits.

From the Commission to Strengthen Social Security report's summary of Model 2:

Workers can voluntarily redirect 4 percent of their payroll taxes up to $1000 (indexed annually to wage growth) to a personal account. ... In exchange, traditional Social Security benefits are offset by the worker's personal account contributions compounded at an interest rate of 2 percent above inflation. ... Benefits under the traditional component of Social Security would be price indexed, beginning in 2009.

On the January 21 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, O'Reilly explained that "liberals" oppose Bush's Social Security plan because "they don't want individual Americans to have power over their pensions ... because they don't trust you to do the right thing":

O'REILLY: He wants to have legislation to give you power over your retirement and power over your medical expenditures. So, that's basically his philosophy -- Bush's philosophy. Now, the liberals don't like that. They don't want individual Americans to have power over their pensions -- you know, as far as the government is concerned -- or, basically, callin' their own shots, because they don't trust you to do the right thing. They want the big government apparatus. ... I don't know what the fear is. If you give people some private investment power over their Social Security, that's not gonna dismantle it for the people who don't want that. The entitlement's still gonna be there.

<snip>

the big lie de jure from Bill:

"It's not gonna wreck Social Security. People who don't want it still gonna get what the government promises 'em." -

[indepat]

1. May his pants forever be on fire in this life and throughout eternity

[papau]

2. AMEN :-)

:-)

[No Exit]

3. Puhleeze..nothing Bush inflicts is ever "optional" n/t

[Inland]

4. Once again the parallels with the selling of the Iraq war in the SS debate

The right wing pundits just up and lie. They lie for the adminstration, but unlike the adminstration, nobody bothers to catch them. And the adminstration never bothers to state anything explicitly true/contrary. And, when everything blows up, the same conservative commentators will say, the administration never promised that your benefits will be the same.

The Iraq war was the same way. During the selling of the war, the right wing enterprise was making crazy claims about Saddam, his intentions, his meetings with alqaeda, his involvement with 9/11. The administration didn't repeat the claims--but they never denied them or said anything directly contrary, either. Then, when WMD didn't show and connections with 9/11 never showed up, I get challenged by freepers to show where the adminstration ever claimed anything and therefore the administration isn't a liar.

There is a world of rightwing disinformation that is coordinated with the conservative think tanks, media outlets, and politicos in and out of the White House.