A Privatization By Any Other Name
Posted by Michael Link on July 14, 2008 at 10:11 AM
The LA Times writes today about how John McCain plans to carry out the privatization policies that Bush attempted at the beginning of his second term -- and how Democrats and others plan to make sure voters know about it, despite his attempts to hide what he really thinks.
It's more than just his private accounts, since all that does is divert where money is currently going (away from retirees, creating a gap in funding the current system). As a result, the other part of his plan is to dramatically cut benefits that future retirees would receive. It's all particularly odd, as the LA Times points out, because he's "endorsing a new reliance on the stock market in the same week that the Dow Jones industrial average dipped to its lowest point in two years."
His response, so far, is to say he's never been for privatization. Too bad he's on YouTube calling for -- you gussed it -- "privatization."
But why?
McCain and his aides say the lack of specificity is intentional -- the result of lessons from 2005, when Bush tried to sell a skeptical public on private accounts.
In fact, according to WisPolitics.com, McCain is now saying that "he almost wishes he had never talked about private accounts." Not that he isn't in favor of them, but just that he wish he hadn't slipped by saying it's his intention if he gets elected.
Straight-talk!
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