2008 Woodie Awards
Bush Continues to Mislead the American People
Kevin Agnese
Issue date: 2/9/05 Section: Perspectives
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In the Democratic response to the president's speech, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House, said, "We have never heard a clear plan from this administration for ending our presence in Iraq. And we did not hear one tonight. Democrats believe a credible plan to bring our troops home and stabilize Iraq must include three key elements. First, responsibility for Iraqi security must be transferred to the Iraqis as soon as possible...Second, Iraq's economic development must be accelerated...Third, regional diplomacy must be intensified."
"If these three steps are taken," Pelosi said, "the next elections in Iraq, scheduled for December, can be held in a more secure atmosphere, with broader participation, and a much smaller American presence."
In a speech delivered at the Johns' Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he highlighted the need for change in Iraq, Sen. Edward Kennedy said, "We need a serious course correction, and we need it now. We must make it for the American soldiers who are paying with their lives. We must make it for the American people who cannot afford to spend our resources and national prestige protracting the war in the wrong way. We must make it for the sake of the Iraqi people who yearn for a country that is not a permanent battlefield and for a future free from permanent occupation."
The president's plan to privatize Social Security would be a colossal mistake. During his State of the Union address Bush largely focused on what has become his top domestic priority. He has repeatedly mislead the American public with his claim that "by the year 2042" the entire social security system would be "exhausted and bankrupt." Experts have agreed that this statement is patently untrue. The New York Times recently reported that under the Bush plan, "The financial safety net that the government promises the elderly, the disabled and the survivors of workers would be transformed over time from a program that uses tax money to pay guaranteed monthly benefits to one that allows workers to put part of their taxes into private investments." The proposal would add $2 trillion to our national debt, which has massively risen since Bush took office to a record $ 4.3 trillion.
In an email message to supporters the Democratic Party said: "Bush deliberately chose to mislead the American people about his disastrous plan to privatize Social Security. He claimed to oppose borrowing money and cutting benefits, but his plan does both, creating trillions of dollars in new debt and cutting benefits up to 50 percent. He claimed that his plan would make Social Security more solvent, but experts agree that it will do the reverse."
The Bush Social Security plan heavily relies on the unpredictability of the financial markets, which could prove disastrous. Sen. Barbara Boxer said on Feb. 3, "Wall Street is going to get billions of dollars if President Bush is successful, and it will come straight out of the pockets of working families...One thing that I never saw was a sense of security that the stock market was going to be there necessarily when you need it to be there."
"If these three steps are taken," Pelosi said, "the next elections in Iraq, scheduled for December, can be held in a more secure atmosphere, with broader participation, and a much smaller American presence."
In a speech delivered at the Johns' Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he highlighted the need for change in Iraq, Sen. Edward Kennedy said, "We need a serious course correction, and we need it now. We must make it for the American soldiers who are paying with their lives. We must make it for the American people who cannot afford to spend our resources and national prestige protracting the war in the wrong way. We must make it for the sake of the Iraqi people who yearn for a country that is not a permanent battlefield and for a future free from permanent occupation."
The president's plan to privatize Social Security would be a colossal mistake. During his State of the Union address Bush largely focused on what has become his top domestic priority. He has repeatedly mislead the American public with his claim that "by the year 2042" the entire social security system would be "exhausted and bankrupt." Experts have agreed that this statement is patently untrue. The New York Times recently reported that under the Bush plan, "The financial safety net that the government promises the elderly, the disabled and the survivors of workers would be transformed over time from a program that uses tax money to pay guaranteed monthly benefits to one that allows workers to put part of their taxes into private investments." The proposal would add $2 trillion to our national debt, which has massively risen since Bush took office to a record $ 4.3 trillion.
In an email message to supporters the Democratic Party said: "Bush deliberately chose to mislead the American people about his disastrous plan to privatize Social Security. He claimed to oppose borrowing money and cutting benefits, but his plan does both, creating trillions of dollars in new debt and cutting benefits up to 50 percent. He claimed that his plan would make Social Security more solvent, but experts agree that it will do the reverse."
The Bush Social Security plan heavily relies on the unpredictability of the financial markets, which could prove disastrous. Sen. Barbara Boxer said on Feb. 3, "Wall Street is going to get billions of dollars if President Bush is successful, and it will come straight out of the pockets of working families...One thing that I never saw was a sense of security that the stock market was going to be there necessarily when you need it to be there."