You should see those Delta hotties

On Wednesday, President Bush claimed young Americans face a future of an empty Social Security system.

"If you have a child who is 25 years old, when that person gets near retirement, the system will be bankrupt."

The Bush Administration is seeking to implement changes aimed at stabilizing Social Security for the foreseeable future by cutting benefits Big Time for our generation. The plan is to reduce Social Security costs...by reducing Social Security benefits. Pretty simple.

People would get to invest their own Social Security taxes, too, although where that will leave you is a gamble. The benefit cuts are guaranteed; the investment rewards are not. Even people who don't invest get their benefits cut.

While most agree Social Security needs more money over the long term since people are living longer, skeptics warn the President's words may create a darker impression than reality. Bush's former opponent, Senator John Kerry went so far as to claim the President is playing up a "phony crisis in Social Security" to further his own plans to cut back the system.

Welll, the reality is that Social Security will still be around when today's MTV watchers and Lil' Bow Wow listeners retire. While the system - were it to remain as is - would no longer have enough funds to pay full benefits sometime around mid century, according to the Congressional Budget Office Social Security will still be able to pay 80% benefits through out the century.

Trying to figure out how to get your money from 80% to 100% paid is a little different that trying to climb out of bankruptcy. Check out the USA Today fact check thingy for more info.

So relax, you may not be able to afford South Florida, but south Mississippi has beaches and warm weather too, at less than 80% of the cost!

On second thought, south Missisippi sounds more like the Bush Social Security plan....At 80% you can still find a little spot with the Fockers in Coral Gables....

-- Miles Granderson

In case you missed it

Bringing you the fake news, a few days late, like only we can.

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The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

OLD MONEY

With his second term about to begin, President Bush has a few top priorities. Number one: learn to play harmonica. Then... get a Gmail account. And after that... foosball table in the Oval Office. But then after that... fix Social Security.

President Bush launched a high-profile campaign today to convince Americans and Congress alike that the nation's Social Security program is headed for financial ruin unless sweeping changes are made to the system. Also, freedom will die. He just tags sentences with that now out of habit.

To sell this idea, the president played host to an off-the-cuff, pre-scripted chat with regular, pre-screened folk at a town hall-style forum in the nation's capital designed to convince attendees that Social Security is a problem.

Bush told the crowd, "We've got an expert from the Social Security system that will talk about the problem, and I'm going to talk about the problem. You know, the problem is that some in Congress don't see it as a problem. They just kind of, think that maybe things will be okay." He continued, "And that's a problem."

The president was also joined on stage by Andrew Biggs, the associate commissioner for retirement policy at the Social Security Administration, to put the issue into words ordinary people could understand. He said, "People make an analogy of a ship heading toward an iceberg. And in a sense you can say, 'Well, the crisis happens when the ship hits the iceberg.' But if you think about a big ship, like a big Social Security system, it doesn't turn on a dime." By the way, yes, that statement was a question on your SAT test.

The most controversial element to the president's plan is to allow young people to invest part of their Social Security money in the stock market themselves, and then, if there's any left, to pass that money on to their heirs. And if the market crashes and they lose all their money, then Wal-Mart will have a limitless supply of greeters, so really, the plan is win-win.

The president explained how his plan would help America's African-American population, saying, "The interesting thing, there's a... African-American males die sooner than other males, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people. And that needs to be fixed." To repeat, the president views the low life expectancy of black men as a reason to privatize Social Security. As for helping them live longer, hey, he's not a miracle worker.

Democrats, however, have taken issue with the president's campaign to reform Social Security, saying Bush is trying to convince people the 70-year-old system is headed for an iceberg when it actually isn't.

Critics point out that in fact, Social Security will be running a "surplus" until 2018. Then again, surpluses have a way of disappearing when this administration's around.

Looking out for the kid down the street whose dad died.

Most people don’t know it, but when a parent dies or becomes disabled, Social Security steps in to provide financial support to the family. The surviving parent and each child gets a check. It’s a lifeline—an assurance that they’ll have a roof over their head, a jacket to wear to school, lunch money.

You pay for that assurance when you contribute to Social Security. Be thankful that's its there. Pray that you never need it.

But millions do. Right now, there are nearly 4 million people under the age of 19 collecting Social Security. Did you know that?

They’re largely forgotten in today’s Social Security debate, even though those benefits go to the chopping block too, if Social Security gets cut back in favor of private investments.

Think about that. It makes the issue a bit more immediate and personal, doesn’t it?

Did you or someone you know lose a parent growing up?

Rock the Vote is looking for young people who collect Social Security, or used to. We want to hear your story. So get in touch with us -- email the blog team, or call us.

That depends on the definition of "flat bust"

If you haven’t followed the news closely, you may have missed a growing controversy about whether the government is going to pay you a few hundred thousand dollars it owes you.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House “strongly argues that Social Security benefits paid to future retirees must be significantly reduced.”

That’s right! The White House wants to cut back OUR benefits—by a lot. They don’t think we can afford them. Did you know?

Of course, it’s a lot easier to take something away from people if they don’t think they’re going to get it anyway. Which explains why the President is now campaigning around the country saying things like:

“If you're 20 years old, in your mid-20's, and you're beginning to work, I want you to think about a Social Security system that will be flat bust, bankrupt, unless the United States Congress has got the willingness to act now.”

Well then, let’s think about it! We can do the math.

All right. A 25-year-old starts collecting Social Security at age 67. (Yes! 67. They already hiked our retirement age…)

According to the Social Security Administration, which is responsible for official government projections, Social Security can pay 100% of benefits until 2042. After that the tax at its current rate can fund benefits at about 70% throughout the century (long after that 25 year old is dead and gone). Official budget analysts for Congress disagree: they say Social Security is 100% funded until 2052, and can pay out nearly 80% after that.

So the 25 year old retires in 2046 and gets…at least 70% of benefits. Which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

How can this be? After all, we’ve heard all our lives that Social Security is going to be “bankrupt” when it is our turn to collect. Maybe you even saw that ad on CNN saying there won’t be enough workers in the future to pay for all the retirees.

Well… it turns out that, even with those demographics, there are still enough people paying into the system to pay for most of our benefits. Not all, but most. Until long after we are dead and gone.

Back to the President of the United States—given the facts, what is your take on what he said?

What’s your definition of “flat bust”?

They still haven't caught the bastards.

Have you ever registered someone to vote?

Think about this then. They are still trying to figure out who killed three young activists for registering Black voters in Mississippi in 1964.

As you might have heard from news reports, Mississippi has just reopened a case from the Civil Rights era. Three young men, ages 20, 21, and 24, were in Mississippi as voting rights workers when they were murdered and their bodies dumped in a river.

Their murder has remained unsolved, and now after 41 years a local former Klan leader has been arrested and charged. The police are promising more arrests as well.

It's amazing how recently people were being killed over voter registration.

-- Scott Nelson