Greenspan = Possum Eatin' Sonofabitch

[Coot]

You pay into SS all of your life and this bubblhead wants to take it away. (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040225/D80UC2EO0.html)

Whether or not the fund is in trouble due to excesses of government, Congress should be obligated to fix what they've broken and raided by backfilling it and making dramatic cuts elsewhere. Greenspan should be shot for being an advocate for legitimizing what will certainly be the biggest ripoff in history.

[jfcjrus]

I realize that I'm going to piss a lot of folks off by saying this, but;
I think Mr. Greenspan is a tired old man, not running on all 8 cylinders.

He portended to try to orchestrate a 'soft landing' for the dot.com bubble, a few years ago.
I'll agree that it was, indeed, a 'bubble'.
But, DAMN!, would you call the last few years a 'soft landing'?

I do recognize his ability to see thru the horseshit and express such.
BUT lately, it does seem, to me, that he's pretty full of himself in advising our elected leaders in issues not of his assigned task.

I appreciate that everything's intertwined, but really, just who elected him the infallable guru?

Regards,

[Robert Harris]

I appreciate that everything's intertwined, but really, just who elected him the infallable guru?


He did. I've always considered him to be a fraudulent horse's ass.

[eakes]

Why pick on Greenspan? He's just laying out some cold hard facts.
There are only two ways to 'fix' SS (for about the third time), either raise taxes or cut benefits. In his view cutting benefits is the best approach.

When SS was passed in about 1935 the average life expectancy was 63 yet one could not draw SS until age 65. At the time it was passed, it is obvious that the SS proponents did not expect many to ever draw SS. Hence it is my belief that, at the time it was enacted, SS was nothing more than a revenue tax using 'retirement benefits' as a carrot to get it passed.
If the SS rules had kept pace with life expentency then the present SS retirement age would be about 85. If congress had done its job and increased the retirement age each time SS has been 'fixed' in the past, the baby boomers would have about 15 more years to SS retirement.

The electorate should have scuttled the SS pyramid scheme in the 60s or 70s and replaced it with a private retirement. We would all have been better off.

[ethics]

He did. I've always considered him to be a fraudulent horse's ass.
Kerry disagrees!

Kerry Says He Backs Greenspan's Reappointment as Fed Chairman

By Jay Newton-Small

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, the
leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, said
he supports another term for Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan because he deserves ``a large part of the credit'' for
the U.S. economy's growth in the 1990s.
``I have great respect for Alan Greenspan,'' Kerry said in an
interview today in Ohio, where he is campaigning ahead of next
Tuesday's primary election. ``I think he's done a superb job of
managing our monetary policy.''

[Stiofán]

Eakes, you left out one option to fixing SS. It's the one Coot mentioned in his opening post.


Congress should be obligated to fix what they've broken and raided by backfilling it and making dramatic cuts elsewhere
Why should we year in and year out spend billions to prop up corporate agri-business, hate filled governments of opposition such as Egypt, or congressperson's pet little district building projects and pork?

[Robert Harris]

Kerry disagrees!
Kerry Says He Backs Greenspan's Reappointment as Fed Chairman


Every potential president is entitled to one mistake... :)

[Plunge]

He portended to try to orchestrate a 'soft landing' for the dot.com bubble, a few years ago.
I'll agree that it was, indeed, a 'bubble'.
But, DAMN!, would you call the last few years a 'soft landing'?

Maybe it is the Godwin of economics, I don't know, but when looking at history and stock market crashes (see Great Depression), I would say we got off easy.

[ShinyTop]

I suspect the degree of soft or hard in the landing perceived by anybody is dependent on how much value their investments lost and whether or not they had continuous employment through the downtrun. Don't forget the words of wisdom, "When your neighbor is out of work it is a recession, when you are out of work it is a depression."

Only people with exceptional wisdom look beyond their own pocketbook when determing the nature of a downturn in the economy.

[bruzzes]

It seems whenever a specialist talks in general terms about the specific solutions concerning their expertise in their specialized field without taking the divisive political situation into context all hell breaks lose, as with all rational thought by the populace.

It happened with the specialist about the out-sourcing of jobs and now with Greenspan.

While no one likes the out-sourcing, especially in a time period when we have a jobless recovery, his remark was from a totally economic viewpoint that outsourcing reduces expenses and bring downs the overall prices of products.
If all electronic and technological products were made in this country the cost would be astronomical.

Greenspans remark is also from an economic viewpoint. What may be a viable solution may not be applicable or even practical. It is the COLA that has always screwed up SS. The rates are calculated with a large amount of error on the positive side. Often rate increases are measured at 3% when actual inflation is 1.5%. Multiplied by the millions on SS it comes to a bundle of money every year over a period of many years. Over the last three decades, the monies generated have been raided many times. Fixes are often short-lived.
I doubt seriously if SS will be compromised. It never has, and with all the baby-boomers coming of age and with voting power, I doubt we have anything to be worried about.

I am always amazed how rational and intelligent people over react with emotion over day to day statements by various officials, when common sense should prevail.

[Robert Harris]

Greenspan here is making more of a political statement rather than a statement from expertise -- just as some of his earlier statements have been made for political reasons.

[bruzzes]

Political statement????

Yeah, your right, Greenspan is trying to bring Bush down.
There is nothing wrong with SS.

Move along now...

[damonlab]

Grenspan is just giving out ideas like this because of the taxcuts.

If taxes get cut, programs have to be cut as well.

In respect to the soaring national debt, I never understood how tax cuts were any sort of good idea in the first place.

[Coot]

The concept is pretty simple, and according to many folks, Reagan demonstrated it. When Reagan came into office, we were in recession and the economy needed to grow out of it. Cutting taxes stimulated the economy and down the road aways, the re-invigorated economy filled government coffers with more than enough revenue to cover it. Problem is, someone decided to spend it and more rather than pay down the national debt, so here we are again.

[yazdzik]

Notice, however, that before any politician would back a balanced budget amendment, which would be unpopular, we can assert all amount of moralistic bigotry to change the constitution when it means more power for the haves.
Under a balanced budget requirement we would have had no war.
Come to think of it, why do we not pass another amendment, called the "Tax the fruits to pay for the daisy cutters" amendment?
We can kill two birds with one referendum -

"Since God has ordained that homosexuality and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues are works of Satan, all couples not consisting of a man and woman lawfully joined in wedded bliss shall be taxed sufficiently to cover the Federal budget deficit, ratio per capita.
Congress shall have the authority to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Makes as much sense as anything else this election year.

-M

[Coot]

Point of clarification?

Thank You.

A balanced budget initiative or bill would only be unpopular with other politicians. I personally don't know a soul that thinks government spending more money than it actually has is a good idea. ;)