Comments for Washington Post Discards All Journalistic Standards In Attack on Social Security at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 36 out of 20 comments http://www.cepr.net Tue, 21 May 2013 12:23:34 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12587 Wrote to Ombudsman and he says: Thanks Bob, I am looking at this story and will probably write about it this sunday. _________________________ Patrick B. Pexton Washington Post Ombudsman ombudsman@washpost.com 202-334-7582 - BobFromLI Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:34:07 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12559 This totally sociopathic position was being pushed big-time by Mitch McConnell in 2009. What he said was, your money's gone, you won't get it back, so just get over it. The Enron theory of Social Security management. If we have a Republican administration in 2012, this will become government policy, and he will be right; we'll have no choice but to get over not being paid the social security or medicare we paid for over 40 years of our lives. - Fiona Mackenzie Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:03:38 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12547 The criminal elite, represented by the Post, want to kill SS and force everyone into the stock market as their only investment tool, plain and simple. - Greg Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:54:20 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12527 Great Post, but, as the Daily Howler points out: "From this opening excerpt, a reader might get the impression that this awful news report is somehow unique to the Washington Post. We don’t think Baker meant to say or imply that. But let’s make sure we’re perfectly clear about the actual truth. It’s a bit misleading to say that the “treacherous milestone” is “entirely the Post’s invention.” In fact, this milestone has been part of right-wing disinformation for more than twenty years. So too with that “runaway national debt”—and we’re not sure why Baker feels that this report “would have been excluded from most opinion pages because of all the inaccuracies it contained.” It seems to us that presentations like this have been a common part of op-ed culture for the past many years." - Ufotofu9 Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:45:42 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12522 Should we also discuss the issue of large number of workers who pay into the SS and do not receive anything such as foreign workers because of restrictive immigration policies (never granted citizenship)? - wretchedForeigner Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:48:14 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12506 Stuart Levine wrote: One usually refers to cash flow. Using that commonly understood definition, the trust fund is not cash negative. The interest which was used to make up for the cash shortfall, which was apparently anticipated, was realized by using general revenues AS IF THE TRUST FUND DID NOT EXIST. As pointed out previously, this is the way all government bonds are "cashed in," whether part of a trust fund or not. You seem to consider government bonds as cash equivalents. If so, do you think Medicare Part D is fully funded, even though 75% of the premiums are paid by general revenues, representing a current budget expense, the same process used in cashing in interest of the Social Security trust fund? Don Levit - Don Levit Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:12:52 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12501 Two observations: Dean mentions that the tempory payroll tax deduction is being refunded to the SS trust fund from the general fund. The payroll tax reduction was adopted as a stimulus measure because it was the easiest to do. It should not be subtracted from SS revenues. Second, I think of the budget as SS, Medicare and Medicade each with dedicated sources of revenue which roughly cover expenditures normally; and the general budget. The problem is SS has contributed a major part of the general budget funding. The problem is discretionary expenditures are much greater than income and corporate taxes. - gnat Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:39:45 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12500 It never ceases to amaze me the lengths the ruling class will go to in order to get what they deem theirs. They will stop at nothing to get the gold, even if it means convincing us it has all vanished! - Bugboy Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:11:54 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12497 Reading closely and ignoring all the purple prose, feigned outrage and unsubstantiated allegations of corruption, you didn't really lay a glove on the Wapo story. You're just angry that they didn't spin the situation in the way you'd prefer. - a Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:25:42 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12492 Thanks for the information and correction. That's very good to know! And thank you for all the links in your other comments as well. - Mark Adams Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:08:09 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12490 Ugh - I couldn't force myself to do more than skim the Post's propaganda piece, but I didn't see any mention of the disability portion of SS. It's pure incompetence to talk about the program as if its only a retirement program. - Jason Dean Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:58:18 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12489 The CBO ran through 30 popular proposals to tweak Social Security and found that a combination of a few of them effectively wipes up out the MODEST deficit (0.7% of GDP over the next 75 years): http://www.verisi.com/resources/decision2012.htm#s6 - dean liman Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:54:55 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12487 ... I always tell them that what they're really saying is, "The SS Trust Fund is full of IOUs FROM ME that I have no intention of paying back." They hate it, but it's true. - Rick Massimo Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:24:22 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12486 Dean--Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the Social Security Trust Fund is not "cash negative." Yes, it is true that the benefits paid out exceed the taxes paid in, but the fund will continue for some years to grow due due to interest on the government obligations that it owns. Interestingly, in a business setting one usually refers to "cash flow," which means all cash that comes in, including interest income, less all cash outflows. Using that commonly understood definition, the Trust Fund is not cash negative. - Stuart Levine Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:02:32 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12485 "The $2.6 trillion Social Security trust fund will provide little relief. The government has borrowed every cent and now must raise taxes, cut spending or borrow more heavily from outside investors to keep benefit checks flowing." Isn't completely correct. We have a non-convertible currency and the US govt can create dollars at will. (well currently we tie our shoe laces together and then get mad when we trip and fall). With the ability to create dollars at will, cashing a bond is functionally equivalent to transferring an amount from a treasuries account to a reserve account. Why would you borrow something you can create at will? Public debt is private sector savings. Maybe if we just stopped issuing bonds, we could clear up the confusion. Dean's going to be on Bernie Sander's panel about the fed with Kelton, Black, and Galbraith. Might try asking them about it. Productivity, real resources, and political will (but not affordability) are the only things that really matter when it comes to supporting our retirees. - joe Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:39:09 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12484 WaPO lost its journalistic ethics and credibility a generation ago. The entire group which also owned than Newsweek the collection of the most sinister and disreputable stenographers who in fact were no more than Clinton/Obama groupies, made no secret of their "leanings". They not only fielded reporters who fabricated stories but many were so lazy they simply arrived at a country, switched on the T.V set and began to dictate their "report" to D.C (Wapo, Rome Bureau Chief, arriving to the Hilton, Damascus, 1973, October War), or the story of the son of Dickie, loitering at the Camino Real, San Salvador,(1980-1981) offering drinks to the photographers, who completed their morning drive, searching for dead bodies of executed guerilleros. He was so scared of his mind, he could not get into a car and see anything for himself, so the reports with his name on it were based on what lesser paid daring fellows saw, but he got the credit. Or the famous Beth Nissen, who took a trip with a married bureau chief to Antigua, Guatemala when U.S advisors first landed in uzuluta, El Salvador, whe wrote her take from inside the helicopter, of the U.S Sp'l Forces, which was described to her by a Miami based Time reporter, who was on the ground. She than, left Newsweek to teach at the politicized center of Communist studies=Columbia School of Journalism. No wonder why most U.S reporters are so agenda oriented, hell cound to promote the theories of Marx and Lenin. This is nothing compared to the reporter who told the story about some kid messing with heavy drugs in the D.C area, a purely fabricated nonesense for which she was fired. They are not alone, The New York Times has a retinue of social activists, who use the daily as a tool to promote Socialist poilicies and with a poser like Jill Abramson, they have a warm place to plot their next contribution to the serie of "We were useful idiots"! - Al Sheeber Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:15:23 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12483 Under the law, as long as their is money in the trust fund, then Social Security is able to pay full benefiits. Should be "there" not "their" and "benefiits" is spelled "benefits." I'd have more confidence in this article if it would have been proof read. - David Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:49:25 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12482 There is no good reason to force an equivalence of SS with some other financial instrument or program, for example with insurance, assurance or 401k accounts. This kind of thing is one reason there is so much confusion about it (bashers take advantage of this). To a first approximation, it collects money from workers and redistributes it to the elderly and disabled. To a second approximation, because of the baby boom it has collected excess taxes from boomers which went into the Trust Fund, and which are to be paid back to them on retirement. Let's just call it Social Security and talk about what it actually does, not how it "is" or "is like" something which is actually different. - skeptonomist Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:43:28 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12479 If Ms. Montgomery had not published the same "first time ever" "vanishing surplus" story on Mar 31' 2009 in this same paper. And had it thoroughly debunked then by CBPP, and if anyone was reading blog Angry Bear, by me. There is a line between lazy reporting and pure propaganda, and on this topic Lori erase that line long ago. Google 'vanishing surplus Lori Montgomery 2009' and post and pushbacks pull right up. It didn't get any better on being recycled. - Bruce Webb Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:47:46 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/washington-post-discards-all-journalistic-standards-in-attack-on-social-security#comment-12478 Where did anyone get the idea that the Washington Post has standards? At least and that would fall under the heading of morally and ethically correct? - Amanda M Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:46:20 +0100