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For Immediate Release
August, 05 2010, 10:47am EDT
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Social Security and CBO's Odd Numbers
The 2010 Social Security and Medicare Trustees' Report is scheduled to be released on Thursday. The 75th anniversary of Social Security is on Aug. 14.
DOUG HENWOOD
Henwood is editor of Left Business Observer. He writes regularly at https://doughenwood.wordpress.com. His books include Wall Street.
WASHINGTON
The 2010 Social Security and Medicare Trustees' Report is scheduled to be released on Thursday. The 75th anniversary of Social Security is on Aug. 14.
DOUG HENWOOD
Henwood is editor of Left Business Observer. He writes regularly at https://doughenwood.wordpress.com. His books include Wall Street.
He said today: "Though what little economic recovery we saw earlier this year has been petering out, the austerity party is sharpening its knives, ready for war. Among their choice targets: Social Security and Medicare. And what do they use for evidence? At the top of their list are some apparently alarming projections for deficits and debts from the Congressional Budget Office. What almost no one notices, much less questions, is that the CBO is forecasting near-depression levels of economic growth not just for the next few years, but for the next seven decades. (This is familiar territory for those of us who've been following the projections of Social Security's imminent bankruptcy, which are based on preposterously bearish assumptions.) When you're forecasting something so at odds with history, you owe the public an explanation, which the CBO and the deficit hawks don't provide. If there's any truth to the forecasts, then we should be discussing what amounts to a state of permanent economic crisis, not the need to hack away at enormously popular and successful social programs."
See by Henwood: "The CBO's Deep, Unappreciated Gloom"
Also, "Jonesing for a Slump"
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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