Biting the hand that's trying to feed you

A good catch by Yuval Rubinstein at The Left Coaster

Gross criticizes Social Security plan

Even the only people who would benefit from King George's Social Security Plan think it's a bad idea and think some fiscal sanity would be better for their pocket books than some additional investment fees.

Manager of biggest bond fund contends individual accounts not the answer, wants deficit reduction.
Bill Gross, manager of the world's largest bond fund, is criticizing President Bush's plan to privatize part of Social Security.

Gross, managing director at Pimco, called the argument about the solvency of Social Security "silly" and said it was an example of the president not focusing on more important issues, such as the budget deficit.

The president's argument for individual Social Security accounts is meant "to promote an agenda that has little to do with seniors and more to do with Bush, his ownership society, and ultimately his domestic legacy alongside the likes of Ronald Reagan and FDR," Gross wrote in comments posted on Pimco's Web site.

Gross seems to have his feet firmly planted in the reality based community.

"Without a blockbuster of a program in his second term it is unlikely that Bush can go very far in the history books on the back of a paltry 3 or 4 percentage point tax cut for the rich," Gross wrote.

"Presto!" he continued. "We now have partial privatization of Social Security heading the agenda upon which the president intends to spend his well-advertised political capital."

But while the president says that will help fix Social Security, "the problem has more to do with demographics than the lack of ownership," Gross wrote.

Gross argued that it will take more than individual Social Security accounts to correct a projected shortfall and suggested the government should focus on cutting the budget deficit instead.

Yuval Rubinstein correctly points out that Bush probably will go down in history alright:

If anything, Bush will go down in the history books as the (unwitting) father of Iraqi theocracy. I'm sure the Iranian mullahs will be forever grateful.

Note
I have a post over at Running Scared on Krugman's latest take on Bush's Social Security Plan, you can kill a flock of sheep with witchcraft,........