Lies, lies, lies!

(I promise, I'll write about something other than the Bush drive to destroy Social Security real soon now.) Meanwhile, from AP:

Both Card and Snow, who appeared on "Fox News Sunday," said Social Security is beyond repair as it now stands.

Big Fat Lie.

Asked whether Bush's ideas would remove guarantees of Social Security benefits to younger workers, Card said: "Under no one's plan will younger workers receive benefits they've been promised because the Social Security system doesn't have the financial underpinning, the foundation to support the expectations of social security 75 years from now, 50 years from now."

Another Big Fat Lie.

Card suggested "an open and honest debate about all of the ramifications" of Bush's ideas.

Except that they are steadfastly refusing to put forward any specific details, so that no one can actually do a real analysis of all the ramifications, and they continue to say things that completely ignore what many other people from across the spectrum are saying already.

"Let me say we don't have a plan yet, so all of these numbers on financing are entirely speculative," Snow said. "Let me say this, though: that if we get a real fix here - we have to get a real fix - if there's a real fix, we will be able to finance the transition costs."

In other words, "we're selling you a pig in a poke, but trust us, it won't cost anything, because we can just borrow the money". (Remember back when Iraqi oil revenues were going to pay for the whole operation there? Gosh, those were good times...)

Granted, they were appearing on Faux News, but it's just astonishing that they will say things like this outright.

Beyond repair? Ridiculous. Many analyses suggest that quite reasonable assumptions about the economy yield no crisis at all, and minor adjustments, like making higher incomes subject to FICA, fix any problems that come up with more pessimistic assumptions.

Under no one's plan will younger workers get the benefits they've been promised? Doubly vile, since a) many plans from critics get them their benefits, and b) the most likely Bush plan WON'T get them their benefits, without huge tax increases down the road to make up for shortfalls his plan creates.

The system doesn't have the financial underpinning? Excuse me, did the President's Chief of Staff actually just say that US Treasury bonds are going to default?! Is he really predicting a failure of the Government's taxing authority? Because that's what's underneath the Social Security system. This isn't Enron we're talking about. And if we can't trust that, how in the world is Snow going to be able to finance the transition costs? Wouldn't he be borrowing by issuing the same sort of bonds that Card says don't support Social Security?

Open and honest debate? Yeah, right.

Write and call your Representatives and Senators. They need to know that some of the public is already tuned in to this issue, and we don't like the noises the White House is making. This is the issue that Democrats most need to stand unified on, and there are plenty of Republicans who have qualms also. Constituent opinion may be what they need to turn qualms into outright opposition.