Rep. Bachus: "Social Security Could Face Default Within Two Years"

Inquiring minds are reading the details of an interview in the Tuscaloosa News with Congressman Spencer Bachus. Please consider Bachus discusses Social Security, health care.

“Social Security could face default within two years,” U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus predicted here Tuesday. “The situation is much worse than people realize, especially because of the problems brought on by the recession, near depression. What this recession has done to Social Security is pretty alarming."

“We’ve known for 15 years that we were going to have to make adjustment to Social Security, but we still through that was seven or eight years down the road,” he said. “But if things don’t improve very quickly, we’re going to be dealing with that problem before we know it.”

“We could raise the retirement age, or in the worst case, cut back on some benefits,” he said. “But that is something we are just now beginning to get a handle on.”

By the way, and as noted in Federal Tax Revenues Suffer Biggest Drop Since Great Depression, there is no Social Security fund and there is no trust either.

All that exists of Social Security is a bunch of IOUs and unpaid promises that most believe cannot possibly be met.

Health Care Debate Rages On

Bachus also commented on health care and will not vote for the package in it's current form. “I cannot vote for a bill that has the government intruding into the private sector, subsidizing health care and eventually putting the insurance companies out of business,” he said.

Bachus believes privately-administered health “co-ops,” and elimination of fraud and waste in Medicaid and Medicare is the way to go.

The creation of health care “co-ops,” or non-profit health cooperatives run by members, is an idea that has gained momentum as Democrats and President Barack Obama seems to have moved away from the idea of a “government option,” which would be a government-run alternative to private health care now offered by for-profit insurance companies.

Who Is In Favor Of The Bill?

Inquiring minds are asking who is backing the health care bill? For the answer, simply watch TV commercials as noted in Drugmakers Ramp Advertising Campaign For Health Care Reform.

The pharmaceutical manufacturers would not be spending $120 million in advertising if it did not mean immense profits for them.

The more promotion there is for this package the more leery of it you should be. The reason the AMA, AARP, and now PhRMA are all lining up behind healthcare reform is because everyone of them has been bought out by sweeteners.

Be Careful Of What You Ask?

I would not dismiss this advertising campaign by big PhRMA lightly. However, there is always another side to the coin. Please consider, Five Reasons Teva Should Have Pfizer Running Scared.

Professor Kristin Graham favors generic drug manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) over Big Pharma manufacturer like Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), and Eli Lilly (LLY).

I have no opinion on any of the above ideas, I just want to point out both sides of the trade.

Who Is Against The Proposal?

Let's also consider who is against the proposal. In Health Care Reform Opponents Argue, "Go Broke, Don't Fix It" professor Ryan Goldberg offers the opinion that "Health insurers, from Aetna (AET), to United Health (UNH) to Humana (HUM) to CIGNA (CIG) to HealthSpring (HS) -- are none too pleased."

Confused Consumers Caught In The Mudfight

However, with all the pot-shots and mud being thrown by both sides, my sentiment reading is the public is not supportive of the bill. And the longer the debate continues, and the more mud gets thrown, the less likely the bill will pass in its current form.

That means winners and losers can change at a moment's notice, depending on the final legislation.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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