Cool Bunny

So George W. Bush offers us his annual prime time televised press conference, and all it elicits is a big yawn.   The White House must be desperate to put him up in front of the cameras in a situation they couldn’t completely script and control.  

After sixty days of barnstorming the country in a campaign style effort to sell his social security plan, marked by carefully staged events in which the president would meet with pre-selected, supportive, carefully screened “average” citizens.  Unfortunately for the White House, this tactic, which worked so well during last year’s election, no longer fools most Americans.....not even those who support the president.   And the net result of his sixty day PR effort was zip, zero, nil, nada.   Not only was he unable to generate support and enthusiasm for his “reform” plan, he lost ground.  Hence the appeal last night.   Moreover, his handlers know that the “private accounts” idea has gained no traction in the general public, so he attempted a new track.   Last night he proposed that future benefits would be means tested, with people of less means getting even better benefits than they now do, but people with greater means facing cuts.  

He didn’t provide any details and it wasn’t clear at what income level the benefits would start to decline, but one might suspect that if Social Security is to be made solvent without any increase of taxes or the income ceiling below which taxes are paid, that break point might be pretty low.   That won’t play well for the vast majority of Americans.   And if one factors in the private accounts, then the level moves even lower to insure solvency.    What the president proposes to do is change social security from a guaranteed pension system into a welfare system, with the social security taxes of those who work hard going to pay for the less fortunate in our society.    Now that may not be a bad thing, but it smacks of a socialist redistribution of wealth on a grand scale that sounds like a massive welfare program for the indigent aged.

As for private accounts and giving people “control” over their investments, there is a contradiction here.   He offers “control” but says those investments will be restricted to very certain, very secure, very safe areas.   He even hinted that folks might be permitted to invest in the very same treasury notes....those worthless “I.O.U’s” he mentioned.   But such investments rarely perform at the top level of the markets.  It’s the high risk investment that usually generates the best return.   Anyway, people already can create private accounts.  It’s called saving and investment, something that the American public appears loath to actually do.   So the president is looking for a way to force them to do so.....but will rob Peter to pay Paul in order to do so.

As for his energy plan, he now at least pays lip service to conservation (but one suspects that Dick Cheney’s attitude still prevails once the microphones are off).   It was all very grand sounding, but as usual there was nothing of substance to explain how we might do better.   Lowering gasoline prices is exactly the wrong thing to do.  That would only encourage more energy use.   Better to allow them to float higher.....and even add a tax to gasoline to discourage driving while paying for the research he said we need.    Or maybe back the effort to mandate higher mileage standards?    And if we should drill in ANWR, why not off the coasts of Florida and California where there are far greater amounts of oil to be had?   No need to answer as that was a rhetorical question.  We all know why those places remain sacrosanct.....political favors.

Iraq?   Everything’s coming up roses.  Ignore those car bombs and assassinations.   The future’s so bright, we all gotta wear shades.   And terrorism?   We’re winning. We’ve got them on the run.   But the administration has decided not to release the data on terrorist attacks during 2004, because it shows that in fact the number of terrorist incidents increased dramatically.   And that might lead some to think that the President’s optimism is at best premature.

All in all, George W. Bush offered little or nothing of substance, and presented his usual “everything is perfect in this best of all possible worlds” view of the world.

I don’t know which is more frightening.  The idea we’re being led by an administration that contemptuously spins things to suit their assumptions and desires knowing that a gullible public will accept almost anything....or that they really believe what they say and are completely out of touch with reality.

dtf



"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."—George W. Bush, Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23, 2002