Progress Report: Headlines Factually Bankrupt

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Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:00:43 -0800

Progress Report: Headlines Factually Bankrupt

" American Progress Action Fund "

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AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND

The Progress Report

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

Mipe Okunseinde

www.progressreport.org

3/24/2005

 

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

ThinkProgress.org.

 

SOCIAL SECURITY

 

Headlines Factually Bankrupt

 

The trustees report on the financial state of Social Security was

released yesterday but you don't need to read it to understand the

most important part of the ongoing debate: President Bush's

privatization plan makes Social Security's financial problems worse.

And despite what you may have read in your local newspaper this

morning (here, here, here and here, for example), Social Security is

not going broke in 2041. Rather, according to the most recent Social

Security trustees report, the program will be able to pay full

benefits to all beneficiaries until that date without any reforms.

(Five years ago, the trustees predicted that the program would be able

to pay out full benefits until 2037, so – despite the scare tactic by

those eager to privatize the program – its financial condition has

actually been improving.)

 

BUSH HAS NO PLAN FOR THE BIGGER PROBLEM: There are five trustees,

three from the Bush administration and two who are independent. The

two independent trustees – Republican Thomas R. Saving and Democrat

John L. Palmer – weren't invited to the press conference announcing

the release of the new report. Apparently, they weren't on message.

Saving and Palmer noted that, over their five year tenure, the

finances of Social Security have improved. According to Saving and

Palmer, the more pressing issue is how to affordably meet our

obligation to provide health care to the poor and the elderly in the

coming decades. American Progress released its plan to do so

yesterday, in the context of a fully-financed universal health care

plan. President Bush has no plan.

 

PRIVATIZATION MAKES THINGS WORSE: The Bush administration has already

tried to use privatization to control the costs of an entitlement

program. It's been a disaster. In 2003 the president and his

right-wing allies jammed through Congress the Medicare Modernization

Act – which provided massive subsidies and overpayments to HMOs and

the pharmaceutical industry in an effort to rely more on the private

sector and " control costs. " Using the administration's favorite

metric, the administration's 2003 changes alone now " ha[ve] an

unfunded liability of $18.2 trillion projected out infinitely. " Since

the administration's 2003 changes, the exhaustion date for the

Medicare trust fund has worsened by six years.

 

THE FUNDAMENTAL CONTRADICTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZERS: The Bush

administration is ignoring the five-year trend and focusing on the

fact that the predicted exhaustion date for the trust fund is one year

earlier (2041) than last year (2042). Treasury Secretary John Snow

said, " the report underscores the fact that the longer we wait, the

more difficult the problem becomes. " There is a big problem with that

argument. President Bush is traveling around the country telling

people the Social Security trust fund doesn't exist. For example, on

Monday Bush said, " some of you may think there's what they call a

Social Security trust.... But that's not how it works ... what's left

is an empty IOU. " Snow's rhetoric, while irresponsibly inflammatory,

reveals that what Bush is saying isn't true. If the trust fund was a

fantasy, a change in its exhaustion date would have no impact on the

program. The fact is, the Social Security trust fund is real – backed

by the full faith and credit of the United States – and will help

ensure the program can pay full benefits for decades. (Share your

views about this contradiction on ThinkProgress.org)

 

INFINITE MANIPULATION: The Bush administration also emphasized the

unfunded obligation of Social Security " over the infinite horizon, "

which the trustees place at $11.1 trillion. This is a completely

meaningless number because it assumes " the system's finances 10,000

years from now are a legitimate policy concern. " The American Academy

of Actuaries has said the infinite projections convey " little if any

useful information about the program's long-range finances ... [and

are] likely to mislead anyone lacking technical expertise ... into

believing that the program is in far worse financial condition than is

actually indicated. " The shortfall over a 75-year period is $4

trillion – a significant gap – but one that " could be bridged with

modest tax increases and benefit cuts, phased in over the next few

decades. "

 

HUMAN RIGHTS

 

Detaining the Truth

 

Documents reviewed by the Washington Post reveal senior U.S. officials

in Iraq hid unregistered detainees at Abu Ghraib prison as part of an

illegal practice known as " ghosting. " Defense officials initially

denied the practice existed, then described it as " ad hoc and

unauthorized. " In fact, the " ghosting " program was " systematic and

known to three senior intelligence officials in Iraq. " The documents

show the " highest-ranking general in Iraq at the time acknowledged

that his top intelligence officer was aware the CIA was using Abu

Ghraib's cells " to hide unregistered detainees under false names, " a

policy the general abruptly stopped when questions arose. " The

arrangement was designed to keep the International Committee of the

Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations from knowing the

detainees existed.

 

HAUNTING ABU GHRAIB: According to statements investigators took from

soldiers and officers who worked at Abu Ghraib, a " stream of ghost

detainees began arriving in September 2003, " after military

intelligence officers and the CIA agreed on an arrangement with the

consent of Col. Thomas M. Pappas and Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, the

top two military intelligence officers at the prison. Unregistered CIA

detainees were then " brought to Abu Ghraib several times a week in

late 2003, " and hidden in a special row of cells. " Military police

soldiers came up with a rough system to keep track of such detainees

with single-digit identification numbers, while others were dropped

off unnamed, unannounced and unaccounted for. "

 

PENTAGON PASSES THE BUCK: The documents obtained by the Post

contradict a long list of Pentagon denials and understatements on the

ghosting issue. Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the top Army officer in

Iraq at the time, " told the Senate Armed Services Committee last

spring that there was no system of keeping such detainees at Abu

Ghraib, but he later acknowledged two cases in which it had happened,

including that of one detainee who died in custody and another who was

kept without registration at the behest of Defense Secretary Donald H.

Rumsfeld. " In June of 2004, Army Inspector General Paul Mikolashek

told the Senate Armed Services Committee there was " no evidence of the

so-called ghost detainees that were in existence. " Just two months

later, on 9/9/04, Gen. Paul Kern admitted to the same Committee that

the Army had held " dozens to perhaps up to 100 " " ghost " detainees. The

Pentagon corrected that rare moment of candor earlier this month, by

way of Vide Admiral Albert Church's stunningly incompetent report on

U.S. interrogation rules. Church, who concluded high level U.S.

officials had nothing to do with the mistreatment of detainees at Abu

Ghraib or elsewhere, testified on 3/10/05 that there had been " about

30 quote, 'ghost detainees,' " then thanked the CIA for being so

cooperative in his investigation.

 

THE PRAGMATIC CASE AGAINST TORTURE: Apologists for the Bush

administration's lax stance on detainee abuse have clung to claims

that techniques such as " ghosting " and " extraordinary rendition " are

vital to U.S. intelligence aims. But FBI memos released early this

week by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) state that intelligence acquired from

aggressive interrogation techniques has been " suspect at best " and

that such practices " could undermine future military trials for

terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay. " The revealing memos were

originally released in December to the ACLU, but kept under wraps by

the Justice Department (acting on advice from the Pentagon), which

initially redacted those portions, citing " national security "

concerns. Sen. Levin noted, " the previously withheld information had

nothing to do with protecting intelligence sources and methods, and

everything to do with protecting the DOD from embarrassment. "

 

Under the Radar

 

EDUCATION – FLORIDA BILL TARGETS " DICTATOR PROFESSORS " : Conservative

Florida legislators are pushing a bill that aims to stamp out " leftist

totalitarianism " by " dictator professors " in the classrooms of

Florida's universities. The so-called " Academic Freedom Bill of

Rights " legislation is yet another state spin-off of right-wing

activist David Horowitz's campus crusade to prohibit public and

private college professors from introducing " controversial matter "

into the classroom and shift oversight of college course content to

state governments and courts. " According to a legislative staff

analysis of the bill, the law would give students who think their

beliefs are not being respected legal standing to sue professors and

universities, " the University of Florida's student newspaper reports.

Students would also have the right to sue if they believe their

professor is " singling them out for 'public ridicule' – for instance,

when professors use the Socratic method to force students to explain

their theories in class. " The bill has two more committees to pass

before it can be considered by the full House.

 

WOMEN'S RIGHTS – DEPARTMENT OF ED SKIRTS TITLE IX: In its own version

of March Madness, the Department of Education has " quietly issued a

new clarification of the regulations interpreting Title IX. " Posting

the change on a Friday afternoon, the Education Department's move

" could make it easier for colleges " to claim compliance with Title IX,

the statute that prohibits institutions receiving federal financing

from discriminating based upon sex differences. Immediately disparaged

by women's advocacy groups, the new change allows colleges to use

online surveys to assess whether female students are having their

sports interests met but can interpret high nonresponse rates to the

surveys as lack of interest. Thus, out of the various things that

nonresponse might actually mean, the college can conclude that

nonresponse means that interests are being " fully and effectively "

accommodated. The Department of Education defends the decision not to

announce the clarification by stating it has not changed its policy;

however, the co-president of the National Women's Law Center

responded, " The new guidance changes the whole landscape. "

 

PROPAGANDA – UNIONS AIM TO TERMINATE ARNOLD'S FAUX NEWS: In

California, where an actor serves as governor, it seems only fitting

that union leaders are now becoming TV directors (or at least trying

to yell " cut! " on the set). The San Francisco Chronicle reports that

three of the state's most prominent labor unions have filed suit

seeking to stop the Schwarzenegger administration from distributing

news-like propaganda segments it produced to promote its agenda. One

of the two ads was actually targeted at California workers, touting a

government-backed, corporation-friendly proposal that would kill

mandatory lunch hours, complete with a positive promo text for local

anchors claiming the bill " would clear up uncertainty in the business

community and create a better working environment throughout the

state. " Never mentioned was the fact that organized labor opposes the

rule change, nor that the proposal is backed by the California

Restaurant Association, " which donated $21,000 to one of

Schwarzenegger's campaign funds last year and provided food for his

2003 inauguration. "

 

SOCIAL SECURITY – TEACHERS REVOLT: The trustees of the Vermont State

Teachers' Retirement System, which helps fund retirement benefits for

thousands of former Vermont educators, took a vote that has set them

up to be " the first public pension board in the country to take formal

action against President Bush's Social Security reforms. " Passing 4-2,

the resolution declares that Vermont's three public pension boards

will " carefully consider the activities and involvement of investment

firms in efforts to promote privatization during the selection and

retention process of such firms. " This move is intended to make it

difficult for firms to both be proponents of privatization efforts and

also managers of the over $1 billion of assets in the teachers' fund.

Jeb Spaulding, the state treasurer of Vermont, applauded the statement

and is now encouraging other public retirement boards in the state to

follow suit.

 

IMMIGRATION – BUSH SHIFTS THE BLAME: Immigration reform and

overhauling Social Security are two proposals that President Bush

addressed during his State of the Union address. Though the president

has pledged his support to both issues, immigration received a few

sentences during the annual speech, whereas shilling for his Social

Security plan received paragraphs upon paragraphs and has been

followed up by a 60 stops in 60 days tour. Now, President Bush has

shifted the blame for inaction on immigration reform onto the

shoulders of Congress. During his meeting with the president of Mexico

and prime minister of Canada, President Bush promised to continue

working on the issue and then told the leaders, " You don't have my

pledge that Congress will act, because I'm not a member of the

legislative branch. " When it comes to forcing his Social Security

plan, the administration openly threatens Congress, but with issues

like immigration, apparently there is respect for checks and balances.

 

DON'T MISS

 

DAILY TALKING POINTS: Conclusion is the Same: Bush's Privatization

Plan Will Only Hurt Social Security.

 

EDUCATION: Minorities still being left behind in California.

 

CIVIL LIBERTIES: Unlikely coalition forms to scale back Patriot Act.

 

GOVERNMENT: Juan Cole on the " fundamentalist " precedent being set by

the Schiavo intervention.

 

VIDEO GAME: Playing the new Social Security privatization game from

American Progress.

 

DAILY GRILL

 

" Unfortunately – unfortunately, my opponent, tonight, continued to say

things he knows are not true – accusing our military of passing up a

chance to get Osama bin Laden in Tora Bora. As the Commander in charge

of that operation, Tommy Franks had said, it's simply not the case.

It's the worst kind of Monday morning quarterbacking. "

 

– President Bush, 10/29/04

 

VERSUS

 

" Pentagon: Bin Laden escaped us at Tora Bora "

 

 

 

 

– AP headline, 3/23/05

 

DAILY OUTRAGE

 

Straining to maintain troop levels in Iraq, the Army is ordering up

troops involuntarily from the seldom-used Army's Individual Ready

Reserve, a pool of soldiers who have " completed their volunteer

active-duty service commitment but remain eligible to be called back

into uniform for years after returning to civilian life. "

 

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