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Everyone who didn't watch the Colbert Report last night should check the comedycentral website tomorrow for his word of the day, it's all about the President's position switch on energy and the cut on middle eastern oil.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:The date at which the trust fund will run out, according to Social Security Administration projections, has receded steadily into the future: 10 years ago it was 2029, now it's 2042. As Kevin Drum, Brad DeLong, and others have pointed out, the SSA estimates are very conservative, and quite moderate projections of economic growth push the exhaustion date into the indefinite future.
So what this means is that we Baby Boomers will be cashing in "our" Treasury bonds, which will pay for "our" Social Security.
This "Social Security Crisis" was another scare tactic, meant to force us to make choices we really don't have to make.
Yes, the system needs a few tweaks. I think Medicare/Medicaide should be split off from Social Security. Federally assisted/mandated Medical coverage should be available to everyone who does not have private insurance. And then we should negotiate for lower drug prices like Canada does. People shouldn't have to wait until they are desperately ill to go to the doctor. And people shouldn't have to choose between eating and affording life saving drugs.
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Everyone who didn't watch the Colbert Report last night should check the comedycentral website tomorrow for his word of the day, it's all about the President's position switch on energy and the cut on middle eastern oil.
quote:Originally posted by Morbo: I just saw this on my brother's blog, and it makes me sick. From the NY Times via Daily Kos blog
quote: The Energy Department will begin laying off researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the next week or two because of cuts to its budget.
A veteran researcher said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol. Those are two of the technologies that Mr. Bush cited on Tuesday night as holding the promise to replace part of the nation's oil imports.
So on Tues. Bush is gung-ho for alternative energy, and promising more research money for it, and less then 48 hours later staff cuts National Renewable Energy Laboratory are announced? What an utter liar! His staff will have to spin faster than a Kerr-Newman black hole to explain this travesty away.
Don't they know there is a rhadamanthine interval between the making of promises in speeches and their obligatory abnegation and gainsaying?? 48 hours is just rude and idiotic.
The researchers for the lab have been rehired, and Bush has blamed the isseue on a paper error more or less.
I am both saddened and joyed at the recent Bush energy plan. He's on the go about it, touting all over the nation, and it's awesome to see a president, a Republican no less, being so proactive about renewable energy.
It just makes me sad that he really has no intention of actually following through with any of his promises to fund any of the initiatives and causes that he's mentioned. He's budget is a joke, and is underfunded by billions of dollars. But at least it's getting some attention.
I'm really curious too as to what technologies he's talking about when he says these things will totally change the face of energy in the nation in the coming years.
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posted
ps. From the Yahoo article on the same thing, they noted that they found $5 Million to rehire these people, out of the $28 Million short fall
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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The money used to rehire them was taken from other programs in the energy department. The energy secretary said the money was taken from underperforming projects that bore no fruit.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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