January 06, 2005

Those Comforting but Dangerous Stories
by Bob Wallace

Very young children are notorious for blaming their problems on others. What parent hasn't heard ad infinitum, ad nauseum the "explanation": "You/he/she/they made me do it"? Projecting blame on someone else is one of the first things kids do when they learn to talk.

The way many researchers see it, small children can think of things pretty much only in terms of good or bad. Understanding shades of grey is for when they get older. I suppose that's why in children's stories, say fairy tales, good and evil are portrayed in the whitest of whites and the blackest of blacks. The prince is always noble and charming and the witch always is ugly, cackles and has a wart on her nose.

In stories for adults, however, people aren't lumped into such clearly differentiated categories of good and evil. They're imperfect, a mixture of good and bad. It's the prince who often has the wart. (Read the rest here)

Libertarian Commentary on The News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2004

With much of the West enjoying the benefits of a new year’s snowfall, I’m sitting here by a warm stove (not necessarily of my own choice) and thinking of the way of freedom, and how many times we can get diverted from that way. It is far easier to lose the freedom than it is to have it taken away from us, at least as a people, and that appears to be the case in this new year. At least, that’s what I think - ‘tain’t’ necessarily so for anyone else, including FND or TPoL, but it is my opinion, like this column.

Bush Social Security plan will allow tax diversion
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"The Bush administration is focusing on a Social Security proposal that would allow younger workers to invest nearly two-thirds of their payroll taxes in private accounts, with contributions limited to about $1,000 to $1,300 a year, an administration official said Tuesday. A proposal is expected to be unveiled in late February. But the White House cautioned that President Bush has not decided on a specific plan. The administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the size of the private accounts could be similar to a proposal by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a plan from Bush's 2001 Social Security commission." (01/04/05)

A step - but not nearly enough of a step - it is probably not a good idea to call this privatization, maybe ‘semi-privatization’ or ‘partial individualization’ would be better: and the opponents are already screaming about cutting benefits by 2/3, with the impression that current social security recipients would have money yanked from their hands. Don’t you just love the mainstream media? Many libertarians are trashing this idea completely because it still provides for bureaucratic oversight of the investment, and mandates the investment. However, compared to the current situation, it is a breath of fresh air, and much, MUCH better - right now, tearing down the whole shoddy Ponzi scheme is NOT a viable idea - even though we should still be promoting it, as the next step.

Mama's Note: Take a look at this article from Ed Henry. It's long PAST time to tell the truth about Social Security. I don't agree with Ed about much of this because we'd all be better off if government got out of our personal lives altogether, but there are things that could be done to restore SS to at least what is was supposed to be. (Read the rest of the Commentary here)

FICAA.com Presents: The American Jury Hour with Iloilo Marguerite Jones and guests. Heard on The American Voice Radio Network , Thursday Afternoons, Noon Pacific, 1PM Mountain. The weekend rebroadcast of this week's program is at Sunday at 9:00 PM. .

Heard on The American Voice Radio Network American Voice Radio Network can be heard on:

C-Band Satellite at Galaxy 11 (formerly G-7), Transponder 12, Audio 8.1 Internet Streaming Audio (MP3 16kbps) C-Band and Internet Audio feeds are free with no subscription fee or sign up required whatsoever. (Read the rest here)

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