If you believe these myths, then click the links.
> Cutting taxes is a magical, mystical sure-fire job creator!
(Except it's not.)
> American companies are overregulated.
(Except they're not.)
> Ben Bernanke is the most inflationary Fed chairman in recent memory.
(Except he's not.)
> Bloody violence is out of control along the Mexican border, and illegal immigrants are streaming into America at record levels.
(Except it's not and they're not.)
> President Obama's plan to boost the economy doesn’t appeal beyond the liberal hippie fringe.
(Except it does---big-time.)
> Social Security is going broke, it adds to the deficit, and we have to raise the retirement age because people are living longer.
(Except it's not, it doesn't and we don't.)
> Allowing voters to register on election day results in widespread fraud.
(Except it doesn't.)
> The earth is getting cooler.
(Except it's really really not.)
Excerpted from the Daily Kos.
2 comments:
> Social Security is going broke, it adds to the deficit, and we have to raise the retirement age because people are living longer.
(Except it's not, it doesn't and we don't.)
Some of MoveOn.org's numbers are a little out-of-date. Because of the economic downturn, SS is already running a deficit (which previously wasn’t expected to happen until 2016), so the trust fund will not reach the projected $4.3 trillion. It's currently around $2.5 trillion and dropping, and will continue to do so unless the economy improves.
Treasury bonds are essentially IOUs. It’s money the government owes to itself. For SS to pay out benefits, it now has to redeem those bonds, meaning money has to be pulled from the general fund, which comes either from taxes or borrowing, which in turn, increases the deficit.
People may not be living longer, but the birthrate is dropping, so the ratio of retirees to workers is increasing. In order to keep SS going, either taxes will have to be increased, or benefits decreased, or both.
And the payroll tax holiday isn't helping. Fortunately, it's a very easy fix. Lift the payroll cap and it's done.
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