Friday, January 14, 2005

The SS Frameup

"We have a problem, and the problem is America is getting older and that there are fewer people to pay into the system to support a baby boomer generation which is about to retire. Therefore, the question is, does this country have the will to address the problem?"……President Bush, 12/9/04

OK, I’m being cynical again, but…

Bush is framing the debate over SS in terms of lack of young workers. He is simultaneously pushing for a drastic change in immigration law, to allow “guest workers” in, presumably at sub-minimum wages, to do the jobs he claims Americans won’t do. (Let’s leave aside, for the minute, the fact that a lot of these horrible jobs are in the software industry, and currently pay quite well, thank you.)

So- if you don’t want to cut SS benefits, and you don’t want to privatize – hey, just let in several million new “guest workers” – with low pay, no bargaining rights, and the threat of deportation hanging over their heads. They’ll be guaranteed to provide a wedge against unions, accept poor working conditions, and feed lots of industries that would rather not raise pay or improve conditions to make the jobs acceptable.

Does anyone else smell something a bit ripe?

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