NOTE: ScrappleFace editor Scott Ott writes columns at Townhall.com, here’s a glimpse of his latest, and a link to read more…
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by Scott Ott
No sparks. No attacks. No clever sniping against fellow Republicans. What kind of presidential debate was that?
That’s the tone of the mainstream media coverage of last night’s Republican presidential forum in Boca Raton, Florida. Journalists and pundits have decided that what America needs in a president is a guy (or gal) who really knows how to verbally eviscerate his opponents. When the candidates fail to do that, the pundits describe the debate as “soporific” and lacking “fireworks”.
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39 responses so far ↓
1 conserve-a-tips // Jan 25, 2008 at 8:59 am
Am I first?
May America Honor God!!!!
2 conserve-a-tips // Jan 25, 2008 at 9:03 am
Hawkeye: Thank you for the beautiful e-card! And thanks for the wishes Ms Rightwing, Ink. It’s a cold and dreary day, but it’s gonna be fun!
gang citizenship: membership in a union
3 conserve-a-tips // Jan 25, 2008 at 9:22 am
Happy Birthday Beerme! Does this mean we are the same age??
(blonde joke)
Coxswain Arms: tools for Bill Clinton hugs
4 Maggie // Jan 25, 2008 at 9:39 am
I, for one, was dissappointed. Someone needs to get fired up about the direction that America is taking.
I’ll start it off:Mc Cain is ugly and his mother dresses him funny.
Happy Birthday to Beerme and Conserv-a-tips!
When you light the candles,don’t forget to STOP-DROP-and ROLL.
Dawn Manifacture = early shift
5 gafisher // Jan 25, 2008 at 9:56 am
You’d think a campaign featuring such action heroes as Chuck “scares freight trains into taking dirt roads” Norris and Sly “Rocky MLMXIV” Stallone would have more to keep the chattering class happy.
Huckabee had a good take on the fake “economic stimulus package” being better for the Chinese economy than ours — “… we’ll probably end up borrowing this $150 billion from the Chinese, and when we get those rebate checks, most people are going to go out and buy stuff that’s been imported from China.” Excellent point, as well as his about “trickle-up recession.”
reCaptcha comes from a secret Oval Office transcript of a Clinton-Lewinsky meeting: “stained You.”
6 NeaL // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:02 am
This is one of those articles which make me want to High-5 the author, forward the link to everyone I can IM, and print off copies for everyone who is not online.
7 JQ // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:11 am
Quote from the “New York Times”:
“Senator John McCain of Arizona is the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe…With a record of working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation, he would offer a choice to a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field.”
In other words, McCain is the only Republican willing to govern like a Democrat. I can’t imagine how an endorsement from the “Times” could possibly help a Republican candidate.
Unfortunately, I still think McCain has the best chance of all the (remaining) GOP candidates to beat the Democrats.
WV: staterooms attained: Not yet, Mr. McCain; not, yet.
8 everthink // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:22 am
HBO is currently running a documentary “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”, which I think all Americans should see.
With 361 days remaining, impeachment is unlikely, but that should not be the only concern for members of this administration.
ET
9 Maggie // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:35 am
Prettyold….re your comment on the previous thread#18…..What a hoot.(only you would think of that) Wahahahhahaha
cap. Laura third= she is next in line to be the potus
10 JQ // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:37 am
RE: 5
Here’s a quote from a CNN article on the rebates:
“Some have argued that wealthier taxpayers are more likely to put a $300 check into savings or pay down debt, and that directing more of the stimulus to lower-income households that spend the money is likely to have a greater positive impact on the slowing economy.”
In other words, the point is to bypass the folks who would be responsible with the money (saving and paying down debt), instead enabling the compulsive spenders who have made massive credit card debt the norm.
I can guarantee you that Dave Ramsay will be encouraging everyone who gets these rebates to either a) pay down debt or b) stick it in a emergency fund.
(Unfortunately, I’m afraid that mine will go toward my wife’s new countertop and sink. **sigh** At least it will be a debt-free enterprise…)
WV: Adolphus friend: Rejected first-draft name for “Planned Parenthood.”
11 Beerme // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:47 am
Maggie,
#4….bwahahaa! Keep an eye out on the northern horizon at about 7:30 PM for a flash of light as the candles are lit! (Duck and cover might come into play!)
OT, what kind of party are these Republicans? I mean behaving in a civilized fashion and respectfully debating the issues? I mean, really!
WV: brink85th-Hey, I ain’t that old, yet!
12 conserve-a-tips // Jan 25, 2008 at 11:21 am
maggie #4: Candles? I dun need no stinkin’ candles!
Or cake either - I’m on a diet!!!
I don’t know where all these people keep getting the idea that McCain is the only candidate who can beat Hillary - except maybe from the liberal rags. Last night, Bob Beckel (sp?) was on Fox and they asked him who the Democrats definitely don’t want to run against. He said, “Well, definitely not McCain!!” Right. They just played their hand and it’s all a bluff. If the liberals are trying to quake in their boots over a particular candidate, run from that candidate like the wind.
Chuck Norris said that he is too old. Well, wait until Hillary or Obama get hold of him. They can put out just the right amount of uncertainty about him because of his age and his medical history - just enough to make people question - and then his voting record will come out and he’s toast. Nope. He is not the great hope of the Republican party.
WV Association justify What Hillary is doing this morning about that picture with the “slum lord”.
13 JQ // Jan 25, 2008 at 11:37 am
Re: 15
C-A-T, I didn’t say that I think McCain can beat the Democrats. I just said that he has a better chance than anyone else. He’s left-leaning enough that he could possibly sway some Democrats while carrying the Republican nomination. Face it; you’d vote for McCain before Hillary or Obama, right?
I’m clinging to the hope that Scott mentioned in his prior Town Hall article, that the coal of constitutional conservatism still burns warmly, and it will eventually ignite some kind of revival in our nation.
It’s just that the rest of me sees the world as a whole moving away from the Biblical values that the Constitution was based on. The devil has convinced the world that neither he nor God exists, and man has become a god unto himself. The time-honored principles taught in the Proverbs are being scrapped for the morals of the day.
Bush being elected (twice) was a miracle in and of itself; I was sure that Kerry was going to take 2004. Maybe God will tip the scales in our favor again, but for the life of me, I can’t imagine why.
WV: priate associations: Arrrrrr…clubs for dyslexic buccaneers.
14 JamesonLewis3rd // Jan 25, 2008 at 11:40 am
I agree with the suggestion I saw somewhere this morning:
McCain should reject the NYT endorsement-for a plethora of well-documented reasons, too numerous to enumerate here-AND he actually should have done so instantaneously upon becoming aware of the diabolical stunt.
He still could, but I don’t think he will.
15 everthink // Jan 25, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Oh’ yes,
The Republicans observed Ronald Reagan’s “11th Commandment”; but then, aside from old Hillary ad hominems, Ron Paul was the only one who had anything to say.
Mr. 911 seems to be struggling to find anything else to say. The rich phony guy is looking for a nomination to buy. The SBC guy gave his “Flat Tax” alter call, but nobody was moved. The, once great, old guy is stuck on his investment in Bush’s lie.
ROFLOL
ET
16 upnorthlurkin // Jan 25, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I ‘d remind everyone here that the lib media and dhimmies whole MO is to suppress (and depress) the conservative base into not voting at all…since it’s the only way the WH will be handed to them. Look at the map of counties that voted twice for W. We are still a conservative country, they just want us to believe we are all alone in our out-dated views. It’s our duty to ignore the press/drive-by media and get the word out to our neighbors. It’s NOT hopeless! It’s not over! There are still nine months til this is over!
17 everthink // Jan 25, 2008 at 12:24 pm
“Maybe God will tip the scales in our favor again …”
Are Americans to blame your god for the last four years?
Yes, yes, the great god Diebold, and The Church of Republican Dirty Tricks.
ET
18 gafisher // Jan 25, 2008 at 1:26 pm
unl Re#17: “It’s NOT hopeless! It’s not over! There are still nine months til this is over!”
Pillow talk?
19 gafisher // Jan 25, 2008 at 1:30 pm
JQ Re#7: “McCain is the only Republican willing to govern like a Democrat.”
After his own success and what he’s accomplished with Gore, Hillary and now McCain, Bill Clinton is considering the establishment of a Political Recovery Training School: “Come-Back-Kindergarten.”
20 Hawkeye // Jan 25, 2008 at 1:37 pm
C-A-T #2,
My pleasure… and God Bless.
glad Panchgani — happy resort town in India.
21 Hawkeye // Jan 25, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Oh, yeah… by the way Scott… great piece over at Townhall.com… it brings new meaning to the term infotainment.
technically nutrition — fast food?
22 Hawkeye // Jan 25, 2008 at 2:07 pm
JQ #13,
“It’s just that the rest of me sees the world as a whole moving away from the Biblical values that the Constitution was based on. The devil has convinced the world that neither he nor God exists, and man has become a god unto himself.”
You see very clearly my friend… and Biblical prophecy suggests that the world will continue moving in that direction until “wickedness is multiplied“ many times over, and “most men’s love will grow cold.” -Mt 24:12
(Funny WV comment too)
Basketball and — FOOTBALL! Go Giants!
23 upnorthlurkin // Jan 25, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Gafisher; re:#18….I thought of that the minute the letters hit the screen! Election cycle; gestation, etc…. You must be slightly cynical….(heh)
24 onlineanalyst // Jan 25, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Excellent, reasoned analysis, Scott…but we know that such is your hallmark.
When I change the unwieldy password that TH assigned to me, I will add my two cents in support of your ever-expanding reach into the blogosphere.
Happy birthday to the co-celebrators Beerme and C-A-T.
And thanks to those who offered their kind wishes to me on Wednesday. I had a long post on the stimulus package that also voiced my gratitude, but the whole thing disappeared into the ether-sphere (adding to global warming, no doubt. Between that diatribe and the candles singing my brows, algore has his work cut out in Davos. Did he kayak, bicycle, and schuss his way there?).
WV: one Blair What England apparently decided was enough.
25 Fred Sinclair // Jan 25, 2008 at 4:32 pm
If it should be that I get a $300. check in the mail, I believe the only thing truly positive that I could do with it is endorse it and forward it to Senator Jim Inhofe, (Republican from Oklahoma) who is in my opinion, capable of making better use of it than I. (Possily toward a ‘late entry’ into the 2008 race or the next (2012 race), a Conservative’s Conservative - (Ronnie would have been proud of him)
Heirborn Ranger.
26 conserve-a-tips // Jan 25, 2008 at 4:43 pm
OK, so I guess this clinches it for me regarding McCain. And Rush read a piece today that was fascinating. I’ll have to post it when his page is updated for today’s show.
WV: Marien wife: opposite of ‘common law’ wife.
27 Fred Sinclair // Jan 25, 2008 at 6:33 pm
The NBC news is reporting a lot of the gory details of Detroit’s Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, sexual involvement with a subordinate and his subsequent lying under oath about the affair.
He used a city provided cell phone and they have over 3,000 text messages between them - many too lurid for them to use on TV broadcasts, they say. - the ones they are using are too lurid, in my opinion. (they’ve got clips of her lying about it too).
So will he get a pass and an ‘attaboy’ like his hero, Slick Willie did or will he be thrown under the bus? From the tone of the reporting, I think it’s the bus. Might be a race card at play here.
Heirborn Ranger
28 gafisher // Jan 25, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Fred Re#27: East-Michigan / Detroit politics are a can of worms on a good day. Kwame blackmailed Granholm in the elections and this could be payback time.
reCaptcha: “the slums” … no comment, some wonder.
29 JamesonLewis3rd // Jan 25, 2008 at 8:38 pm
There are rumblings regarding a Year-Long Earmark Moratorium.
My first thought is that it won’t last 30 seconds, if it ever exists at all.
My second thought is that a theelepeltje [Dutch for teaspoon] of Anti-Pessimism Tonic is insufficient in and of itself in this, or any other, day and age. I pray that all Americans would turn their hearts toward God and worship Him.
Thank you.
30 Darthmeister // Jan 25, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Republican dirty tricks? I guess it’s the vast right wing conspiracy which is making the Clintons use their dirty tricks against Senator Obama, eh? Obama accuses the Clinton campaign of dirty tricks and Obama is accused of engaging in dirty tricks and our resident twit wants to cherrypicked supposed “Republican dirty tricks” to make God-knows-what point. Buwahahahahahahaha! What a brain-dead, kool-aid swilling moonbat. It all must be a Republican conspiracy to make Democrats look bad!
“Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”? Was that Abu Ghraib under Saddam Hussein where fellow Muslims were capriciously beheaded or had their hands or legs hacked off? Or is that the Abu Ghraib where rogue American guards created a bondage and S&M photo gallery with terrorist prisoners which made homosexual and bondage porno sites green with envy. What happened in Abu Ghraib happens on San Francisco public streets here, here, here, here in what passes for a normal day there.
And just where did those American soldiers learn to mimick gay bondage techniques? Right here in the good ol’ liberal U.S. of A. That’s right, the perps who dishonored the American uniform were merely mimicking the images of bondage that the gay and liberal crowd have so proudly strutted before the American public as “liberated people.” And now the libs want to blame Bush when undisciplined soldiers - the military merely represents a cross-section of American society - act out those liberal fantasies on terrorist prisoners.
I can’t post some of the links about San Francisco gay parades because they are so liberally pornographic, but the very thing self-righteous fingerpointers like neverthink condemn for happening on an extremely limited basis in a military prison filled with illegal enemy combatants, they applaud and celebrate when it happens in the streets of an American city!
If liberals were truly consistent in their logic, if something isn’t wrong for one group of people (San Franciscans) then it must not be wrong for anyone else despite whatever “moral hangups” they may personally embrace. If they hadn’t a political ax to grind against President Bush and the U.S. military, liberals would have applauded when progressive American soldiers were trying expose Muslim fundamentalist prudes to a more enlightened lifestyle celebrated by liberals around the world! The only thing worse than a Victorian Christian is a Victorian Muslim, eh? I mean, that’s like condemning the candy man for wanting to spread the liberating joy of chocolate throughout the world. Sure it may rot your teeth … but in the final analysis it’s so good! Which goes to prove there is no “logic” to the liberal ethic. It’s not that neverthink and the other moonbats on his side of the aisle are truly morally outraged but rather that they are politically outraged.
I say take your own advice and GROW UP! You are no more morally outraged by this than you are outraged by Hugh Hefner taking advantage of impressionable young women to get them to whore themselves by taking their clothes off for money … capitalist money at that. Worst things happen in the name of gay “love” than what happened to those terrorist prisoners.
At Abu Ghraib the perps were apprehended and punished and there is not one ounce of evidence (other than that which exists in the overwrought minds of connect-the-false-dots liberals) that there were standing orders up the chain-of-command for prisoners to be treated in that manner.
31 onlineanalyst // Jan 25, 2008 at 10:14 pm
OT: Movie recommendation- The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Satisfying entertainment on the topic of intimations of mortality.
32 everthink // Jan 26, 2008 at 1:07 am
“I say take your own advice and GROW UP!”
Well, I never said that!
In fact, Lee Harvey, I hate to think of what you might turn out to be, the way you’re headed.
ET
33 Fred Sinclair // Jan 26, 2008 at 2:57 am
e.t. You make some valid points, considering your affliction. I would recommend that you change your mental health provider, since it is more than obvious that the one you have now is not helping you.
Perhaps, with a really good lawyer you can sue for a refund of your psychiatrist’s fees?
Heirborn Ranger
34 Darthmeister // Jan 26, 2008 at 8:49 am
neverthink, that’s what your side always say when conservatives protest the utter pornographic filth on the left … you tell us to move on, change the channel or grow up. So isn’t it time you move on from Abu Ghraib or is there some prurient excitement you get looking at all those porngraphic images generated by a very small minority of rogue soldiers? Take your side’s own advice AND MOVE ON!
Also I’ve noticed here at Scrappleface you’ve become an even more accomplished liar, so much so you’re more than willing to lie to yourself in order to move your bankrupt political agenda of hate further down the road. Your almost pathological attempts to demonize the Bush Administration for every infraction which may or may not have occurred during a very real war on Muslim terrorism is apparent to everyone here. And apparently doesn’t matter that the military has its UCMJ to deal with the problem, which it did in this circumstance. Ah, but we can’t forget the libs have so creatively thought up a conspiracy theory to explain how Bush and Cheney covered their tracks on Abu Ghraib.
You’re so effective in lying to yourself that I bet you’ll deny that you’re a closet commie despite your belief in the welfare state, economic entitlements, “affirmative action” (affirmative racism) and any number of other left-wing causes. The only reason you could possibly claim you oppose “big government” is because your side of the aisle (mostly closet commies themselves) isn’t in control of the American state. And if there is to be a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress in the coming days you watch them grow government, taxes and intrude even more into our private lives. Already their despicable fascism of political correctness carries the weight of legal penalties behind it.
Your side is seriously sick and carries the seeds of the destruction of this nation under the weight of its liberal fascism which seeks to turn all “minorities” into victims, to fleece the American people of even more taxes thus making more of the middle class eventually dependent on government handouts, and to enforce the dictates of political correctness in the public square.
Witness how Obama and Clinton have tried to paint themselves as bigger victims of the other person’s dirty tricks, the constant race baiting they have both engaged in trying to impress their moonbat base, their cleverly camouflaged promises to grow an even bigger nanny government, and trying to fob their ridiculous foreign policy platform of to American sheeple as a legitimate means to keep America safe and maintain what fragile peace exists in the hellholes of the Muslim world. You and your ilk won’t be satisfied until out of liberal guilt you turn this nation into another third world country.
Oh, and I’m willing to bet a fifty dollar donation to Scott’s blogsite that you haven’t contributed more than $5 to this site over the last two years, particularly in view of the hundreds of times that you’ve visited here to spread your poisonous lies ya’ parasitic twit. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this is true given that this is the typical behavior of a closet commie liberal who believes in getting all the free rides they can. BTW, when was the last time you sent in an extra five thousand dollar (okay, make it $1000) check to the IRS to back-up your belief that government should NOT be giving tax rebates to the taxpayers but rather it should be taxing us more to “eliminate the debt” that evil Republicans supposedly want to saddle our grandchildren with? Proving again closet commie liberals are little more than do-nothing hypocrites … all talk and no personal action which might actually cost them something.
It sickens me to see you liberals publicly whine all day about the homeless or the poor and 99.99% of you Robin Hood wannabees have never taken a homeless person into his/her own home for a few months until your vaunted concern and kindness had rehabilitated them, or have taken a poor family under your personal care to help them out financially. If even ten percent of the liberals (who are filthy rich by comparison) were to act on their faux outrage toward poverty and homelessness, there wouldn’t be a single homeless or poor person in America. Freakin’ do-nothing hypocrites. You people whine about the problem but don’t want to personally involve yourselves in the lives of those they claim are being victimized by our “evil” system. You’re worse than Pharisees, you proudly talk about recognizing a horses need for water but you won’t give it the water that you do happen to have!
You people stand in the public square and scream about all the supposed injustices in the world and yet are unwilling to do it yourselves. I recently saw a study that when it comes to earning power white, middle-class liberals are in the top 2% of the richest people in the world … and the most tight-fisted people around. No wonder you libs have to define your “compassion” by how much you empower the government to reach into our backpockets through confiscatory taxation in the name of your socialist, nanny-state agenda. Legalized thievery, something over which you libs proudly thump your chest to paper over the fact that though you have the money and financial resources you aren’t about to make a very real sacrifice to personal improve the quality of the lives of those you shed such crocodile tears over because it might actually lower your own standard of living just a smidgeon. And keep in mind, it is libs on your side of the aisle who are making such a public show of being on the side of the poor and downtrodden. Liberals really don’t care about the poor and homeless any more than the next guy. It’s all about growing bigger government. Shameless charlatans, using the poor and downtrodden to advance their bankrupt political agenda. Disgusting.
And to add insult to hypocrisy you people then have the gall to condemn conservatives for being greedy and insensitive. Such public hypocrisy is nauseating and its about time you people are called on it. I wish conservatives and Republicans everywhere began pointing out these emerging facts about the utter vacuousness of liberal hypocrisy and their social agenda.
35 Darthmeister // Jan 26, 2008 at 8:49 am
…push
36 Beerme // Jan 26, 2008 at 10:11 am
Darth,
Whew! You said a mouthful! I owe you a beer for that lashing, sir!
37 Beerme // Jan 26, 2008 at 10:27 am
c-a-t,
re: #26,
-I guess it’s whatever straw breaks the camel’s back, eh?
I’ll choose the entirety of McCain’s work over the past few years as the reason I will never vote for him. I will vote for another party before I vote for a big government liberal that calls himself a Republican (or, as he also has called himself-despicably-a conservative!).
Teaming up with liberals (e.g., Lieberman, Feingold and Kennedy) every other year to pass ill-considered bills that further prop up government as the savior of the people in things as diverse and averse to government’s true role as steroids in baseball, free speech curtailment, global warming hysteria or illegal alien amnesty
-Failing to take a conservative role in the Senate, thereby allowing the liberal minority to rule with his and the other RINOs’ assistance
-Joining with the gang of fourteen to compromise on the Democrat filibusters of the appointment of judges
-ad nauseum! I can’t think of much that makes McCain an attractive candidate except the idea that he would prosecute the WOT vigorously. Well, I am not even sure of that!
He would contribute to the dilution of conservative ideals that is the history of the current Republican Party over the past dozen or so years. In short, he would be the worst thing for conservatism there could be. Perhaps worse, even, than a Democrat victory in the upcoming election…
Sorry for the rant but McCain gets my dander up!
38 EXT // Jan 26, 2008 at 6:29 pm
#26…
Thank you for summarizing. I hope your feelings about McCain’s Liberal bent survive here a little longer than have mine.
39 everthink // Jan 27, 2008 at 1:11 am
So, have you seen the “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” Prosecuting the crimes committed there, beyond a few EM, like so many other things, have been “stone walled”, but I believe they should, and WILL be persecuted! Be sure that day is coming, and when it does it will shame all Americans, except some of you here.
Nanny State? Who’s Nanny is Dumbyah?
Under Dumbyah’s “Conservative” control the national debt has gone from $5.6 Trillion to 9.1 Trillion (as of today).
He has squandered American lives and fortune on a war in Iraq that never should have been fought!
“President Bush inherited a unified budget surplus of $236 billion from President Clinton, the largest surplus in American history. Budget surpluses were expected to continue for another ten years when President Bush took office in January 2001. By 2002, however, the unified federal budget had returned to a deficit of $158 billion and has since reached record highs. This year, the budget deficit is expected to reach a record $423 billion. (Office of Management and Budget)”
“President Bush has presided over the largest explosion of debt in our nation’s history. When President Bush took office, the total national debt was $5.6 trillion. The federal debt has increased 54 percent since President Bush took office, from approximately $5.6 trillion at the end of 2000 to an estimated $8.6 trillion at the end of 2006. By 2011, the President’s budget would increase the public debt to $11.8 trillion. (U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Public Debt)”
“Each year since 2001, the U.S. trade deficit has increased at double digit rates and in 2005 set an alarming record high of $725.8 billion-twice the size of the trade deficit in 2001. Even more troubling, our trade in Advanced Technology Products, a strong indicator of U.S. competitiveness, which was in surplus as recently as 2001, experienced a deficit of more than $44 billion in 2005. (U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis)”
“In order to finance record budget deficits, the United States has had to borrow at unprecedented rates from foreigners. In the five years of President Bush’s tenure, the United States has accumulated more debt to foreigners, approximately $1.2 trillion, than this country had accumulated in its first 224 years. By contrast, during the last three years of the Clinton Administration, the United States paid off more than $200 billion in debt to foreigners. (U.S. Treasury Department, Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities; Federal Reserve Board)”
“Record federal deficits and debt create record interest costs. In 2006, interest costs on the federal debt will total nearly $400 billion and this figure will grow to nearly $597 billion by 2013. Record levels of personal indebtedness also limit choices and keep many Americans on the financial brink. In the last two quarters of 2005, Americans had the worst ratio of household debt and mortgage debt to disposable income in over 25 years. These record levels of personal debt cast an ominous shadow over the economic outlook for 2006, a cloud made darker as millions of adjustable-rate mortgages will reset over the coming year, forcing consumers to pay significantly higher interest rates. (Congressional Budget Office; Federal Reserve Board)”
“Workers should be able to count on the retirement promises made by their employers. Increasingly, that is not the case. An analysis by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal entity created by Congress to protect employee pensions, found that nearly 10 percent of pension plans halted benefit accruals in 2003 alone, the latest year for which complete data is available. According to PBGC Executive Director Bradley Belt, anecdotal evidence suggests that this number has been even higher since then. Unfortunately, Bush Administration proposals to expand tax-favored savings accounts that primarily benefit the wealthy risk further pension plan erosion. (PBGC, ; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 5/05)”
All quotes above are excerpted from:
http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-new.cfm?doc_name=fs-109-2-68
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