***AP REPORTS CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TICKED UP SLIGHTLY IN AUGUST: The Consumer Confidence Index inched up from 51.0 in July, to 53.5 in August. Economists had expected 50.5, following two months of straight declines. A reading of 90 or above indicates confidence in a robust economy. The survey indicates that American people are still in a sour mood, and with the current unemployment conditions it’s not likely to improve significantly any time soon. Still, a rise in consumer confidence — however slight — is better than a decline.
***MISINFORMATION ABOUT FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY: Righties’ scare tactics about Social Security ‘insolvency’ involve citing s c a r y statistics. Well, here’s one that’s actually pretty reassuring: Social Security currently has a $2.5 TRILLION surplus, AND will pay 100% of benefits through 2037. Worse case scenario: it will pay 78% of benefits through 2084. So, when they tell you it’s broke, they are lying, lying, lying!
Apples and Oranges/Dollars and Percents. A favorite scare-tactic is when the Right tell us that there will be a $5.4 trillion shortfall through 2084 in the Social Security program. AND that is a scary number, but when looked at in percentages the picture becomes clearer. $5.4 trillion, over the coming 75 years, in percentages is 1.92% of taxable payroll, or 0.7% of GDP. A highly manageable number with several options among Social Security“easy fixes.”
***AND, HERE’S ONE SOCIAL SECURITY “EASY FIX” OPTION: Check out this graph, prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This visual shows us that extending the Bush tax cuts for those with incomes over $250,000 (or the top 2%) would be about the same as the entire Social Security shortfall during the same period! According to Kathy Ruffing and Paul N. Van de Water at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “Members of Congress cannot simultaneously claim that the tax cuts for people at the top are affordable while the Social Security shortfall constitutes a dire fiscal threat.” Hypocrites!
***BP CLAIMS MORATORIUM ON NEW DEEP WATER DRILLING IS THREATENING THEIR ABILITY TO PAY DAMAGES TO GULF RESIDENTS: Geez, we didn’t realize that BP was in such dire financial straits! We understand that they’re spending $5 million a week on advertising to try to improve their image with the public, triple what it usually spends — according to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The money went to print and television advertising, with a smaller amount spent on targeted internet ads. So we were really startled to see that they’re crying “poor.”
***JOHN MCCAIN’S DAUGHTER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT SARAH PALIN: Meghan McCain said this week on “Good Morning America” that her father’s Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, brought “drama, stress, complications, panic and loads of uncertainty” to her father’s failed 2008 presidential campaign. McCain is on a book tour, promoting her recently released, “Dirty Sexy Politics,” in which she says she wondered during the campaign whether the election loss “was Sarah Palin’s fault.” But, this week McCain told “Good Morning America” that Palin was not the reason for the election loss.
“I do clearly state at the end that we did not lose because of her, and I’m speaking out now because I do have conflicting feelings about her. She brought so much momentum and enthusiasm to the campaign.”
When she was asked if she could support Sarah Palin in 2012, McCain deflected the question.
CLN…..Enjoyed Friday FYI’s!!!!!!!
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