Misinformation Mania

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Fri, 11 Mar 2005 08:18:20 -0800

Progress Report: Misinformation Mania

" American Progress Action Fund "

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The Progress Report

by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin with Nico Pitney and

Mipe Okunseinde

www.progressreport.org

3/11/2005

 

 

For news and updates throughout the day, check out our new blog at

ThinkProgress.org.

 

SOCIAL SECURITY

 

Misinformation Mania

 

With White House privatization plans seemingly locked in a tailspin,

conservatives are winding up their mighty howitzer of misinformation

with one goal in mind: confusing Americans about the fundamental

choices regarding retirement security. Some of their claims are so

outlandish that a rebuttal seems unnecessary – take the new study

blaming Social Security for hastening the decline of marriage, or

President Bush's claim yesterday that private accounts would " provide

a safety net for future retirees. " Others have the potential to

seriously mislead Americans about the president's plans. Below are

five seriously specious claims to watch out for:

 

RED HERRING ALERT – THE " ADD-ON " MYTH: Last Friday, President Bush

blurted " out something that sounded an awful lot like news " when he

described his version of private accounts as " an add-on to that which

the government is going to pay you. " The truth: the " add-on " model of

private accounts – creating an additional program completely apart

from Social Security – is the polar opposite of the president's risky

" carve-out " privatization scheme, which funds private accounts by

raiding current Social Security payroll taxes. To see what a real

add-on program looks like, see this report by American Progress fellow

Gene Sperling.

 

RED HERRING ALERT – " BUT IT'S NOT PRIVATIZATION! " : In his latest

weekly e-mail, privatization pusher Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL) claimed

that " Many who oppose reforming the Social Security program have

falsely claimed that personal accounts would lead to the privatization

of Social Security. " Sorry, but that line shouldn't fool anyone.

" Personal " accounts carved out of Social Security are precisely what

economists, analysts, and politicians – including President Bush –

have always meant by privatization.

 

RED HERRING ALERT – CONSERVATIVE " COMPROMISE " : Last week, two allies

of President Bush offered up so-called " compromise " plans, attempting

to corral pro-Social Security progressives who are actually interested

in seriously addressing retirement security. A closer look reveals the

plans are merely " Tangerine and Strawberry phase-out [plans] to be

added to the plum version the president has already put on the table. "

Like the president's plan, both include massive, budget-busting

transition costs, cuts to traditional Social Security benefits, and

risky private accounts (One plan even raises the normal retirement age

to 72 years old!).

 

RED HERRING ALERT – " ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE " : President Bush is

firmly dedicated to pushing privatization. He continues to repeat the

mantra that " all options are on the table, " suggesting yesterday that

he was the first president in history to take such an approach. The

truth: The only option now on the table is the phase-out of Social

Security through private accounts. Just this week, top White House

economic adviser Allan Hubbard " rejected as 'absolutely a non-starter'

bipartisan proposals that the administration put aside its drive " to

create private accounts in favor of " add-on " versions.

 

RED HERRING ALERT – " IT'S ABOUT THE SOLVENCY " : Hubbard also claimed on

Monday that " President Bush's No. 1 goal is passing legislation that

permanently solves the solvency problem. " Looks like Hubbard spoke too

soon. Earlier this week, Government Accountability Office chief David

Walker testified before the House Ways and Means Committee that the

president's private accounts " wouldn't shore up the system " and would

actually " 'exacerbate' the system's problems and accelerate the date

for when it would start spending more on pension benefits than it

receives in annual revenue. "

 

BUDGET

 

The Fix Isn't In

 

Speaking in Alabama yesterday, President Bush repeated a familiar

claim: " We're fixing the deficit. " It doesn't matter how many times he

says it – it's still not true. In fact, the president's most recent

proposed budget would make the federal deficit much worse. A March 4

analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveals

the president's budget would increase the deficit by $1.6 trillion

over the next ten years. Most of the additional shortfall is a result

of Bush's proposal to extend his 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the rich.

According to the CBO, new tax cuts proposed by Bush " would increase

the deficit by more than $1.5 trillion in 2006 through 2015. " Even

these bleak numbers understate the scope of the fiscal crisis. The

president's budget excludes all costs for continued operations in Iraq

and Afghanistan – expected to cost at least $300 billion over the next

10 years – and so do the CBO estimates. The fact is, President Bush's

policies are leaving an enormous tab that future generations will have

to pick up. And he's not being honest about it. (Share your views on

the president's budget on ThinkProgress.org.)

 

FROM BAD TO WORSE IN THE SENATE: Astoundingly, right-wing ideologues

in the Senate have taken President Bush's uncompassionate, fiscally

irresponsible budget and are making it worse. For example, the

president has already drawn " sharp criticism from the nation's

governors " for proposing $7.6 billion in cuts to health care funding

for the poor (Medicaid) over the next five years. Now, the chairman of

the Senate Finance Committee is pursuing measures that could cut

Medicaid by up to " $15 billion over five years. " Nevertheless, the

Senate plan still makes the deficit worse because tax cuts, along with

increases in discretionary spending for defense and international

affairs, " more than offset the proposed cuts in domestic programs. " In

fact, over a five-year period, the Senate plan, which adds $130

billion to the deficit, is actually worse than the president's plan,

which adds a mere $104 billion over five years.

 

EVEN WORSE IN THE HOUSE: The only thing more irresponsible than the

Senate proposal is the House proposal. The right-wing establishment in

the House is pushing to cut health care funding for the poor by as

much as $20 billion and nutrition programs for low-income families by

as much as $5.3 billion. An additional $15 billion is slated to be cut

from other essential programs for low-income Americans, like child

care and disability assistance. Nevertheless, the House proposal

provides for nearly $36 billion more in tax cuts for wealthy investors

than the Senate. Like the president's plan and the Senate proposal, it

also adds to the budget deficit by over $100 billion over the next

five years.

 

THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE PEOPLE – DIFFERENT PRIORITIES: The budget

priorities of the president and his right-wing allies are completely

out of step with the rest of the country. A recent poll conducted by

the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) found that

Americans who were " presented a breakdown of the major areas of the

proposed discretionary budget and given opportunity to redistribute it

.... made major changes. " Specifically, respondents favored " a

significant reallocation toward deficit reduction, and increases in

spending on education, job training, reducing reliance on oil and

veterans. " Respondents favored increasing funding for the U.N. and

U.N. peacekeeping " an average of 207%, or $4.8 billion. " Meanwhile, 63

percent " favored rolling back tax cuts for people with incomes over

$200,000. Large majorities also favored cutting funding that financed

" the capability for large scale nuclear wars, the number of nuclear

weapons, and spending on developing new types of nuclear weapons. "

 

Under the Radar

BUDGET – THIS IS YOUR BUDGET POLICY ON DRUGS: The Bush administration

claims to be committed to " reducing illegal drug use among teens. " You

be the judge. In his latest budget, President Bush is pushing to slash

funds for the High Density Drug Trafficking Area program – a program

which fights drug trafficking in the nation's toughest neighborhoods –

by more than half, from $228 million to just $100 million. Police

chiefs and anti-drug agency heads expressed outrage over the cuts at a

House hearing yesterday. Sheriff Jack Merritt, of Green County,

Illinois, for example, testified: " My ability to work drug task

forces, fight crime and protect my constituents – our constituents –

would be devastated if the proposed reductions were to be enacted into

law. " Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris concurred, saying, " In Arizona

alone, I know several law enforcement agencies will not be able to

continue " support for the program. It's part of an overall pullback on

vital programs to treat drug problems in the United States today. Bush

has also fought to cut funds for a program to fight methamphetamine

use by 60 percent and totally eliminated the Safe and Drug Free

Schools program, which " provides money to reduce drug use and violence

among kids. "

 

CIVIL LIBERTIES – PENTAGON EXPANDS RENDITION: A Feb. 5 memorandum from

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld counsels support for a plan to

transfer hundreds of suspected terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,

to prisons in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen. The transfers would

be similar to the " renditions, or transfers of captives to other

countries, carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, " a policy

that exposes prisoners to abuse and violates the international

Convention Against Torture (Article 3). Reports indicate the

administration has already shipped prisoners off to Syria and Egypt,

both of which are cited for their abuse of human rights and poor

treatment of prisoners in the State Department's Human Rights Reports

released last month. Rumsfeld appears to be trying to convince

officials from the State and Justice departments to go along with the

plan. Those agencies have " resisted some previous handovers, out of

concern that transferring the prisoners to foreign governments could

harm American security or subject the prisoners to mistreatment. "

 

STATE WATCH – COLORADO HOUSE REJECTS TABOR: The Colorado House of

Representatives on Thursday voted 41-22 for a " responsible package

that will ask Colorado voters next November to release the ratchet in

the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, " a provision which will otherwise

" lock in the current recession-level budget at $1.3 billion less than

the level allowed in 2002. " TABOR is a right wing-backed package which

severely and artificially limits revenue and spending for all services

and has crippled Colorado's ability to provide services to its

residents. " If the legislature passes the [budget reform] bill as

written, the measure would need voter approval in November. Over 10

years, it would allow the state to keep $8.3 billion more than it is

currently allowed. " That money would help fund " basic needs " like

education, health care and the environment. The bill now goes to the

state Senate for negotiations.

 

MILITARY – GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE: Senators yesterday expressed dismay

and outrage over the fact that no senior Pentagon officials have been

held accountable in the rampant cases of abuse at the Abu Ghraib

prison in Iraq. Now there's a new wrinkle. New, secret documents

obtained by the Washington Post show " top military intelligence

officers at the Abu Ghraib prison came to an agreement with the CIA to

hide certain detainees at the facility without officially registering

them. " Keeping prisoners hidden, off the books, is in direct violation

of international law. There have been reports of at least 100 " ghost "

detainees held in prisons in Iraq, but the Pentagon previously said

they must have just fallen through the cracks and weren't part of any

official arrangement. Now, however, Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan,

second in command of intelligence gathering at Abu Ghraib, told

investigators that his superior, Col. Thomas M. Pappas, put in motion

a secret procedure in November 2003 to keep detainees off the books

for the CIA. Pappas told investigators that Jordan was the one who

facilitated the arrangement with the CIA in the first place.

 

GOOD NEWS

 

Experts believe the use of Instant Messaging software by teenagers has

improved their writing skills.

 

DON'T MISS

 

DAILY TALKING POINTS: Budget Disasters.

 

TERRORISM: Kofi Annan blasts Britain and the U.S. for " compromising

human rights. "

 

RACE: Sen. Obama (D-IL) finds privatization pitch to blacks offensive.

 

HEALTH: Sen. Grassley (R-IA) calls for the creation of " an independent

office that would monitor the safety of drugs. "

 

RIGHT-WING: Addicted to porn.

 

DAILY GRILL

 

" We're fixing the deficit. " – George W. Bush, 3/11/05

 

VERSUS

 

" Over the 10-year period from 2006 through 2015, deficits would total

$2.6 trillion under the President's budget – $1.6 trillion higher than

.... [the current] projection. " – Congressional Budget Office, 3/4/05

 

DAILY OUTRAGE

 

Seventy-four senators voted in favor of the much-maligned,

anti-consumer bankruptcy bill yesterday. The bill now heads to the

House of Representatives, where passage is a certainty.

 

© Copyright 2005 by American Progress Action Fund. All rights reserved.