Hey Earl, you are an economist, would you try to explain to   
    Richardson how he got this completely wrong.   
      
    Explain to him how social security was set up that way from the   
    begining.   
      
    Explain to him how drawing off all that money to spend without   
    having to raise income taxes was behind the Reagan   
    Administration's increase in Social Security taxes in the mid   
    '80s.   
      
    Explain to him how the same theory applied to the Bush   
    Administration and the republican congress in 2006 when they   
    required the post office to pre-fund employee health care for 75   
    years ahead. Explain how that gave Bush more money to spend   
    without raising taxes at all. Explain how most current employees   
    of the post office won't live another 75 years, and no retirees   
    will. Explain how almost half those being born this year won't   
    live 75 years. Explain to him that is pre-funding health care   
    for workers who haven't even been born yet. No private company   
    in the country has to do that, but the republicans forced the   
    post office to do so.   
      
    Oh, and explain to Richardson that Alan Greenspan supported   
    Bush's tax cuts, rather than Clinton's plan to pay off the   
    national debt, because he did not want to pay off the debt.   
    Explain to him that would take all that money from the trust   
    funds away from the republican government they were planning to   
    be permenant when they passed those laws.   
      
    Go ahead, Earl, put on your economist hat and explain that to   
    Tim.   
      
    Oh, and when you get done explaining government health and   
    retirement trust funds to him, explain to Tim how private sector   
    retirement funds don't have actual cash in them either. Explain   
    how many of them even invest in the same IOUs, US Treasury   
    obligations, that the govt trust funds invest in.   
      
    Take care of that, will you, Earl? After all, you are the   
    economist in Fidonet.   
      
    TR> Remember all those times in recent years politicians have   
    TR> lamented how `Social Security is going broke'? How it needs   
    TR> `fixing' (say some pols), and how it `doesn't need fixing'   
    TR> (say other pols)? And of course everyone knows that if you   
    TR> actually looked `in' that so-called `Social Security lock   
    TR> box' that was a big buzz-phrase in both the Senate AND the   
    TR> House some years ago, there's nothing IN there but a lot of   
    TR> IOU's, because they've been taking money out of it all the   
    TR> time to make up budget short-falls (that is...pre-Hussein   
    TR> Obama, when they used to actually HAVE a budget as per the   
    TR> Constitution).   
      
      
    TR> And now...they've gotten to a point where today's workers   
    TR> who pay into the Social Security fund are actually paying   
    TR> for the monthly checks of recipients, and there isn't any   
    TR> `surplus' in the fund to speak of. The Congress in other   
    TR> words have `spent' *our* retirement and benefits money   
    TR> almost as fast as we paid into it for many years, now, such   
    TR> that what we paid for may not BE there for future payees!   
    TR> Thats pretty much the same as stealing our retirement   
    TR> investment on us. And it is an investment that was   
    TR> *compulsory*...not `voluntary'. In other words...we were   
    TR> FORCED to make this investment in our future retirement by   
    TR> the power of the U.S. government. But it turns out that the   
    TR> U.S. government was diverting this money from its proper   
    TR> purpose, into its own spendthrift projects and pork barrel   
    TR> uselessness (bridges to nowhere...etc etc).   
      
      
    TR> In a corporation or company...when such financial   
    TR> shinanagans occur, its called `embezzlement', or `fraud'   
    TR> (AKA stealing!)!   
      
      
    TR> If it is traced to one or more individuals...there is   
    TR> usually prison time and restitution meted out. In the case   
    TR> of just the corporation or company entity, restitution to   
    TR> stock holders and\or customers, plus a severe fine and\or   
    TR> penalties are meted out.   
      
    ...   
      
   BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn   
      
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