Are they joking?

Simply by being mentioned over and over in the mainstream press, Bush's ridiculously reckless proposal to privatize social security by allowing workers to divert 2-4% of their social security tax to private accounts is gaining credibility. What's even more astonishing is that Bush and the Republicans would have us believe that Social Security is in crisis when if we did nothing it would be fine until 2055 and after that still be able to provide 80% of it's promised benefits. To top it off, Bush wants to borrow to fund the "transition costs" of his privatization plan - but it's a transition that will be enormously expensive because by allowing younger workers to divert some of their money into private accounts, there is less money available to pay current retirees their promised benefits. Here's Krugman to explain the numbers, before we discuss the press reaction:

Projections in a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office (which are probably more realistic than the very cautious projections of the Social Security Administration) say that the trust fund will run out in 2052. The system won't become "bankrupt" at that point; even after the trust fund is gone, Social Security revenues will cover 81 percent of the promised benefits. Still, there is a long-run financing problem.

But it's a problem of modest size. The report finds that extending the life of the trust fund into the 22nd century, with no change in benefits, would require additional revenues equal to only 0.54 percent of G.D.P. That's less than 3 percent of federal spending - less than we're currently spending in Iraq. And it's only about one-quarter of the revenue lost each year because of President Bush's tax cuts - roughly equal to the fraction of those cuts that goes to people with incomes over $500,000 a year.

Given these numbers, it's not at all hard to come up with fiscal packages that would secure the retirement program, with no major changes, for generations to come.

It's true that the federal government as a whole faces a very large financial shortfall. That shortfall, however, has much more to do with tax cuts - cuts that Mr. Bush nonetheless insists on making permanent - than it does with Social Security.

But since the politics of privatization depend on convincing the public that there is a Social Security crisis, the privatizers have done their best to invent one.

What's the press all inspiring reaction to this? Here's The Note (a publication that did it's best to ruin any chance of a Kerry presidency):

...[T]he bottom line from any reasonable standard of analysis is that this president has almost always found a way to achieve his monster legislative objectives, even when the media, the Democrats, and many Republicans are in woe-is-he/perils-of-Pauline mode.

For the Note believes Bush always gets what he wants - and usually should - so you might as well roll over because there is no stopping him. But this logic is insidious and harms our democracy. Just because history shows Bush usually gets his big ticket initiatives passed (his party controls all three branches of government after all) shouldn't obscure the fact that, as the media used to say, "Social Security is like the third rail, touch it and you die." Now that it's a major Bush legislative priority, the media seems to have changed their tune to, "You may think no politician can touch Social Security, but Bush will so don't bother stopping him."

Let's be clear, if Bush fucks with Social Security, we are going to make him pay. Harry Reid (are you all thinking he's as bad-ass as I do?) has already drawn a line in the sand, Democrats will not allow Bush to privatize Social Security. If Big Media doesn't think we can stop Bush on this, let him try and he can kiss his Republican Congress good bye.

However, this is no time for empty threats, it's time to take action. Flood your Congressional reps with mail and phone calls and write letters to the editor. Let them know what you think of Bush's plan and don't allow the media to roll us again with their "It's going to happen no matter what people think" logic.