PSAs and Social Security

The Sans Fromage is confused as to why personal savings accounts are being tied in with Social Security. If personal savings accounts (PSA) are such a good idea why not permit Americans to take 5% of their pretax gross pay and set it aside in a special retirement account. This account does not have to be associated in anyway to social security but would enhance an individual’s available retirement money. Anyone who is thinking that social security will provide for retirement costs is going to be very surprised. Social security was never meant to be a retirement account for people but was meant to be a bare minimum safety net so if people found themselves retired with no money available then social security would provide a small bit of money so they wouldn’t starve. PSAs could be a voluntary thing just like contributions to 401Ks are voluntary. Why hasn’t this option been brought up? Stressing savings programs seems to be a win-win situation for everyone. Maybe tying PSAs to social security allows the huge chunk of money now in the social security system to be opened up to Wall street and to investment firms to get their greedy hands on. Maybe the fact that investment firms contributed heavily to the Bush campaign has something to do with it. The Sans Fromage’s idea to enhance social security would be to allow PSAs and then tax, slightly, any gain earned, over ~5%, from the money in these accounts. This tax would go directly into the social security system. Of course any fees associated with these accounts, like brokerage fees, would be deductible from income tax. This way people could voluntarily gamble their money on stocks and any success would help to build the social security coffers and strengthen that system. If the stock market crashes, as it seems apt to do, social security is not harmed. Tying the safety net of social security in with the stock market seems to be a bad, bad, bad idea. Does anyone remember what happened to their 401Ks post 911? Does anyone remember Enron and WorldCom? Should you put your trust in people like Martha or Ken Lay? If people wish to invest why not allow it, without touching social security. Why not offer T-bills or bond funds just for PSAs? Of course you would have to put some trust in the solvency of the government. With Bush in office maybe that isn’t the best idea.

Read

One of my blogs seesm to have disappeared so I'll recreate it from memory

The Sans Fromage has finished reading

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe
Laurence Bergreen
A tale of Magellan and his crew's travails as they circumnagigate the globe. They sailed across the PAcific Ocean with no idea where they were going or what to expect. A fascinating story.


Faceless Killers: A Kurt Wallander Mystery
Henning Mankell
Mr. Mankell writes Swedish detective novels that fans of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö will enjoy.

Reading

The Sans Fromage is currently reading:

President Nixon: Alone in the White House
Richard Reeves

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Adam Hochschild

and has just finished:

Dark Voyage
Alan Furst

Mr. Furst’s book evokes a certain air of mystery and intrigue. The setting are typically exotic and are described in terms that make you feel the atmosphere. I’ve read all of Mr. Furst’s books and I’ve been thoroughly entertained with them all. Usually they are set before or during World War II and the stories are more about characters than plot. The plots are episodic and follow a character through different adventures. The action is cerebral, more like John LeCarre than Ian Fleming. Tension comes from waiting for the knock on the door in the middle of the night as opposed to lasers approaching the hero’s groin. Highly recommended.

Support our Troops

The Sans Fromage recently read an article in Salon concerning the Army charging patients for meals. “For its part, the Army explains -- and defends -- the food charges at Walter Reed by saying they apply only to some outpatients, not inpatients confined to hospital beds.” but “Soldiers in medical hold are considered outpatients, but they usually live on hospital grounds -- some are put up in nearby hotels if housing on the grounds is full -- and have little choice but to buy food at the Walter Reed chow hall.”

Considering the Bush administration can find money to bribe journalists to support their policies the Sans Fromage does not know why money can’t be found to pay for food for soldiers. Does America treat its armed forces with respect and reward them for their sacrifices? Sure a dead soldier’s family gets a whooping $12,000 in death benefits. Twelve thousand dollars wouldn’t have paid for toothpicks at the Inauguration.

Maybe the Army could sell those torture hoods for Halloween costumes to raise money. They seem to have a bunch of them. That raises a question. Why did the army have those hoods to begin with? Are they standard issue?

Doesn’t it make you proud to be an American. Doesn’t it make you proud to know that our President will pay out big bucks for political gain and give short shrift to soldiers who are dying trying to fulfill Bush’s failed Iraq policy. The Sans Fromage thinks we should be sacrificing for soldiers. Oprah treats her audiences better than our soldiers are treated by our government.

Reading

The Sans Fromage is currently reading:

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe
Laurence Bergreen

President Nixon: Alone in the White House
Richard Reeves

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Adam Hochschild

and has just finished:

Parting the Desert: The Creation of the Suez Canal
Zachary Karabell
A history of the creation of the Suez Canal. More a political story than an engineering story.

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror
Christopher Moore
A profane, left-field comedy. A quick read and very entertaining. Guffaw producing.

Cultural War

Why are US soldiers dying in Iraq? Is there a palatable reason for killing and maiming young people? The Sans Fromage believes we are there because of a political theory and an attempt at revenge. The US seems to be avenging 911 on a culture rather than on culprits. The US cannot win this cultural war. Do the soldiers from Pennsylvania and Montana and Arkansas understand why they are being killed in a foreign country. The Sans Fromage no longer understands why the US is in Iraq. WMD? No. 911? No. That Saddam was a bad man? Maybe but other bad men exist and have existed and the US does nothing. Do the soldiers understand the vague reasons given for their sufferings? Do the soldiers understand the poor support given to them by the US government? Most, over 50%, of the country think it was a bad idea to go to war. Why do we continue? It has become commonplace to hear of more troops killed everyday. TV news regularly present stories of maimed people and how they are coping with their loss. These stories should be rare. The US should be forced into war. It should be a last resort and should be a national sacrifice where all aspects of society are affected. We shouldn't be told to go shopping while our press-ganged youth are slaughtered. This Iraqi war was preemptive. The Bush administration chose the time and how they would carry it out. They planned abysmally. Troops are lacking basic equipment for a war Bush CHOSE to start. Iraq is a horror. We are not bringing democracy to that country. We have worsened the quality of life for Iraqis. We have liberated them of electricity, clean water, safe streets, jobs and a decent foreseeable future.
On a related topic Rumsfeld must go. He has the arrogance of a McNamara and his lack of leadership is killing American soldiers needlessly. Bush's pride is keeping him in office. Bush's pride is more important than the life of soldiers.

Prayer for Prey

The Sans Fromage must applaud Defense Secretary Rumsfeld on his recent reply to the audacious soldier asking about getting decent equipment. Mr. Rumsfeld has finally made it clear that the U.S. government doesn’t give a shit about the soldiers in Iraq but only cares about the political uses of the conflict. The Sans Fromage is glad Mr. Rumsfeld has decided to not mince words and give a false sense of hope to our soldiers press-ganged into service in a war in a country we don’t care about. Tell it like it is Donald.
If the Bush administration can’t gain political power from the war it is of no use to them. This has been a common theme of the last four years and will most probably continue for 4 more years. Look at the accomplishments of the Bush administration and you will see they are all self serving for upper class rich Americans. Meanwhile the U.S. economy is horrible, the prestige of the U.S. is at an all time low, you hear NO news concerning the space shuttle or the space station, there is no news concerning preserving the environment, no news about civil rights, no news about upgrading our faltering health care system, no news about maintenance of our infrastructure, no good news about anything. We do hear about privatization of Social Security. We do hear about this plan that will allow people to gamble with their future retirement. We do hear about this plan to enrich Wall Street and investment firms, (who were large donors to Bush’s campaign). We do hear about this plan that will begin the government’s withdrawal from providing a safety net for retirees, a scant minimum of money so people won’t starve, too quickly. We do hear of continuing tax cuts for the wealthier Americans. Remember our fearless leader is a religious man and he will pray for you as you starve. He will pray for you as he preys upon you. The Sans Fromage believes Americans are fools.

Plan for Peace in Iraq

The Sans Fromage has a plan for getting the U.S. out of Iraq. It is essential that the elections in January take place. It doesn’t matter how corrupt or how unrepresentative the elections are but once the results are known the U.S. will announce that democracy has triumphed and the U.S. mission has been accomplished. The U.S. then pulls out all of the troops, declares victory and with heads firmly in the sand, ignoring any evidence to the contrary, the Bush administration will pat themselves on the back for another job well done. The elected government in Iraq, most probably headed by that well fed puppet Ghazi al-Yawar, will be embattled and eventually, in less than a year, be forced to flee into exile to Paris where the puppet will live a cozy existence, backed by a stipend paid by the US and by the Swiss account he set up of absconded US funds, with the puppet occasionally making noises in the press about returning to establish the legitimate government in Iraq while suffering gout and clogged arteries from all of that rich French food he dines on. Iraq will then be ruled by some theocracy that will force the country down to the level of Afghanistan. The U.S. will bemoan the failure of the Iraqi people to uphold the great democracy they established and will look down their noses at the crude, ignorant people. Eventually the heat of the theocracy will cool and some deal will be brokered, behind the scenes, with the U.S. buying oil from the corrupt leaders of the country, who will squirrel away the money into Swiss accounts for future Paris retirement.

Work

Why does the Sans Fromage hate work? After a week off from work I grew accustom to a simple, peaceful life of books, errands, food and movies interspersed with some chores. The Sans Fromage speculated what home life would be like if it was more like work. Consider making the bed. People would come and sit on the bed and say they booked the bed for this time months ago and it isn’t their problem if the bed was double booked. Other people would unmake the bed to show that they have more power than you. Your manager would tell you to remake the bed after others unmade it because it reflects poorly on him and his career. Others who didn’t make their bed would complain about the lack of bed making training and why should you be able to make your bed without training since you might be doing it wrong. Someone, when your back in turned, spills coffee on the bed. Someone else steals the pillow. A new hire, assigned to help make the bed, disappears for three days and reappears with a proposal to get rid of the bed and sleep on the floor. Your manager considers the proposal because the new hire is the off-spring of a higher-up manager. Your manager suggests you build a finite element model of the bed since the bed making is obvious a non-linear problem and he needs the model by tomorrow for a presentation to a department store having a white sale. The government shows up and measures the blanket and finds that it drapes 8.7” off the left side and 8.86” off the right side and that it doesn’t meet the spec that calls for 8.5” of blanket drape and wants a report written addressing the cost of excess drape. Your manager loves this because you have a cost-plus contract and he considers the report to be out of spec thus enabling him to charge the government for a new laptop and a laser drape measuring tool plus your time for writing the report. The government argues that it is in spec and wants to have a meeting in their offices which are three hours away so you have to drive there and back in one day and you get home at 9:00 PM with no decision, and your bed still isn’t made.

Moron Elect

The Sans Fromage stole this from William Gibson's blog:

"...the larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, the first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide...the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre... The presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people... On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a moron."--H.L. Mencken, writing in The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

Thanks Bill, love your books. http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/

The Sans Fromage agrees with this quote from George Will:
"The filibuster is an important defense of minority rights, enabling democratic government to measure and respect not merely numbers but also intensity in public controversies. Filibusters enable intense minorities to slow the governmental juggernaut. Conservatives, who do not think government is sufficiently inhibited, should cherish this blocking mechanism. And someone should puncture Republicans' current triumphalism by reminding them that someday they will again be in the minority."

The Sans Fromage does not like the bowtie.

The Sans Fromage is back to work. The Sans Fromage is miserable.

The Sans Fromage is currently enjoying a holiday repast and will actively blog soon.

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