Peace and Equality is what America needs to Stop Isolating & Discriminating & Hating. Let start Celebrating & Educating & Creating the World 2B: Remember this is Bigger Than U & ME- MoPoDC
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Loudoun County Fair, and this weekend, with Senator Herring's Weekend of Action. #Obama2012
It is Monday morning, and the teams are set, both Democrats and
Republicans have nominated their local slate of candidates. Game on
starting this week, with the Loudoun County Fair, and this weekend,
with Senator Herring's Weekend of Action.
1) Al Nevarez for Sterling - Over the weekend, Sterling Democrats
selected Al Nevarez to oppose Eugene Delgaudio as the Democratic
nominee for Sterling District Supervisor. Al has the distinction of
being the only candidate to actually outraise Eugene in a fundraising
quarter. If you want to continue to help his momentum to defeat
Loudoun's most infamous elected official, you can do so here:
http://www.al4sterling.com/ (Meanwhile, on the other side of the
political spectrum, our Republican counterparts had their convention
over the weekend and Scott York's adoption of a radical right agenda
did its job. He was narrowly nominated as the Republican candidate for
Board Chair.)
2) Senator Herring Weekend of Action - In addition to the regular
phone banks that the Senator's campaign holds on Tuesday and Thursday
evenings at Herring campaign HQ ( 44927 George Washington Blvd; Suite
145; Ashburn, VA), the campaign is holding a major Weekend of Action
this weekend, July 30 and 31. There will be canvassing, phone banking,
and Sunday evening the annual Ears and Cheers for Volunteers event.
I'm asking for Leesburg Volunteers to email lauren@markherring.org and
sign up to canvass on SUNDAY the 31st at 12:30. We'll be walking the
new Tolbert Precinct, and I'd like the Senator to know that his home
town Democrats are strongly behind him. More details about the weekend
of action can be found here:
http://www.markherring.org/
3) Loudoun County Fair - The annual Loudoun County Fair is this week
(http://loudouncountyfair.com/
represented with a tent in a prominent location. What's more, the LCRC
(Loudoun County Republican Committee) in a fit of organizational
ineptitude, was unable to secure insurance for their tent, and
therefore will not be present at the Fair! (And yes, we're all aware
of the irony of a Republican committee who can't get help from an
insurance company.) Individual campaigns are responsible for staffing
the Democratic tent at the fair all week, so if you want to help out,
please contact a campaign: Mark Herring - www.markherring.org, Dave
Butler - www.votedavebutler.com, Kelly Burk - www.kellyburk2011.com,
Jennifer Wexton - www.votewexton.com, Tom Bellanca -
www.tom4loudoun.org.
4) Supervisor Burk Jobs Symposium Thursday - Leesburg Supervisor Kelly
Burk is sponsoring a Jobs Symposium with local business leaders this
Thursday. (http://www.leesburgtomorrow.
The objective is to have a solid, and results-oriented discussion of
what local businesses need in order to grow the job base for local
talent. Everyone is welcome. It will be held Thursday from 8am - 10am
at the REHAU building (501 Edwards Ferry Road, NE, Leesburg).
5) Meetings - The next LCDC meeting is a week from Thursday, on August
4th at 7pm at Tolbert Elementary school (http://goo.gl/0eJ41). If
you're interested in becoming a voting member of the LCDC contact me
(cell - 443-421-0343, paradox13va@gmail.com). You don't need to be a
voting member to come, everyone is welcome. The next Leesburg
Democrats meeting is August 11th at 8pm at Sal's NY Grill
(http://bit.ly/e9xslw). I hope our newest Leesburg Democrats,
including those who were added to this group in the past couple weeks,
will come and meet us in person!
As always, if you want bumper stickers, yard signs, etc, let me know!
(Ann, I know I owe you a sticker :)
Go Dems!
Evan
P.S. - http://www.loudounprogress.
--
Evan Macbeth
Leesburg Democrats
paradox13va@gmail.com - T: @Paradox13VA
www.leesburgtomorrow.us and www.loudounprogress.org
Republicans have nominated their local slate of candidates. Game on
starting this week, with the Loudoun County Fair, and this weekend,
with Senator Herring's Weekend of Action.
1) Al Nevarez for Sterling - Over the weekend, Sterling Democrats
selected Al Nevarez to oppose Eugene Delgaudio as the Democratic
nominee for Sterling District Supervisor. Al has the distinction of
being the only candidate to actually outraise Eugene in a fundraising
quarter. If you want to continue to help his momentum to defeat
Loudoun's most infamous elected official, you can do so here:
http://www.al4sterling.com/ (Meanwhile, on the other side of the
political spectrum, our Republican counterparts had their convention
over the weekend and Scott York's adoption of a radical right agenda
did its job. He was narrowly nominated as the Republican candidate for
Board Chair.)
2) Senator Herring Weekend of Action - In addition to the regular
phone banks that the Senator's campaign holds on Tuesday and Thursday
evenings at Herring campaign HQ ( 44927 George Washington Blvd; Suite
145; Ashburn, VA), the campaign is holding a major Weekend of Action
this weekend, July 30 and 31. There will be canvassing, phone banking,
and Sunday evening the annual Ears and Cheers for Volunteers event.
I'm asking for Leesburg Volunteers to email lauren@markherring.org and
sign up to canvass on SUNDAY the 31st at 12:30. We'll be walking the
new Tolbert Precinct, and I'd like the Senator to know that his home
town Democrats are strongly behind him. More details about the weekend
of action can be found here:
http://www.markherring.org/
3) Loudoun County Fair - The annual Loudoun County Fair is this week
(http://loudouncountyfair.com/
represented with a tent in a prominent location. What's more, the LCRC
(Loudoun County Republican Committee) in a fit of organizational
ineptitude, was unable to secure insurance for their tent, and
therefore will not be present at the Fair! (And yes, we're all aware
of the irony of a Republican committee who can't get help from an
insurance company.) Individual campaigns are responsible for staffing
the Democratic tent at the fair all week, so if you want to help out,
please contact a campaign: Mark Herring - www.markherring.org, Dave
Butler - www.votedavebutler.com, Kelly Burk - www.kellyburk2011.com,
Jennifer Wexton - www.votewexton.com, Tom Bellanca -
www.tom4loudoun.org.
4) Supervisor Burk Jobs Symposium Thursday - Leesburg Supervisor Kelly
Burk is sponsoring a Jobs Symposium with local business leaders this
Thursday. (http://www.leesburgtomorrow.
The objective is to have a solid, and results-oriented discussion of
what local businesses need in order to grow the job base for local
talent. Everyone is welcome. It will be held Thursday from 8am - 10am
at the REHAU building (501 Edwards Ferry Road, NE, Leesburg).
5) Meetings - The next LCDC meeting is a week from Thursday, on August
4th at 7pm at Tolbert Elementary school (http://goo.gl/0eJ41). If
you're interested in becoming a voting member of the LCDC contact me
(cell - 443-421-0343, paradox13va@gmail.com). You don't need to be a
voting member to come, everyone is welcome. The next Leesburg
Democrats meeting is August 11th at 8pm at Sal's NY Grill
(http://bit.ly/e9xslw). I hope our newest Leesburg Democrats,
including those who were added to this group in the past couple weeks,
will come and meet us in person!
As always, if you want bumper stickers, yard signs, etc, let me know!
(Ann, I know I owe you a sticker :)
Go Dems!
Evan
P.S. - http://www.loudounprogress.
--
Evan Macbeth
Leesburg Democrats
paradox13va@gmail.com - T: @Paradox13VA
www.leesburgtomorrow.us and www.loudounprogress.org
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
My Niece Jasmine Had a Second Audition with TheVoice in New York Follow Your Road
You know my niece almost not went to her second audition because of love ones worried that if she made it through than she would not go to college as planned. I think we forget about life as a child growing up wishing we would've, could've and didn't. When it comes time for our kids to decide on their life choices we tend to let our on doubts and fears effect those near and dear, forgetting no matter what we do, God is in control, so let my niece my go and she went. :)
Me & Isaiah (my son) went to New York to support my niece and we had a nice time. Met some nice people, no celebrities. Tasted the New York style pizza and BBQ. Most of all, I think it was a great experience for my son and my niece, even though she did not make it to the next round. Which we should never let these kinds of disappointments get us down. Follow Your Road, Because You Never Know MoPoDC
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Blame Game #Obama2012 MoPoDC
Mr. President, I hear you with the Dept ceiling not being an option. But what I don’t understand is how far are you willing to go to try to prove to those that you are a man of compromise?
Especially since it seems no matter what you do they are going to want more from you in turn means you having to give in to more and more things that affect the people you are supposed to be standing for.
In the beginning, you defined who you were and what you stood for, Hope, Change, Peace and Equility is what it all should bring, but now you don’t seem the same too scared that you will be the blame in this crazy game.
Well if that is the case because the American people only see race, then let that be what We face. As the song goes, After you done all you can, you just stand. Please Stand As Our Man
MoPoDC
MoPoDC
Thursday, July 21, 2011
[Leesburg Dems] Leesburg Dems Update - July 20, 2011
It is the (Blue? Yellow?) dog days of summer, when extra doors, extra
calls and extra dollars can make all the difference. Kelly Burk, Tom
Marshall, Dave Butler and Jennifer Wexton are out canvassing Leesburg
and surrounding precincts every single weekend, and every day in many
cases, so get out and join them. This is how we win. Links to
candidate websites, where you can volunteer with campaigns directly,
are at the bottom of this email. Otherwise contact me -
paradox13va@gmail.com or 443-421-0343.
1) OFA Voter Registration Saturday - There will be a major, nationwide
voter registration effort sponsored by the Obama 2012 campaign this
Saturday! If there's enough activity, locally, we may get national
news coverage. If you can help out on Saturday morning, contact Jan
Wilson - jan@smartneighborhood.net. The effort will be launching out
of her house in Lansdowne at 8:30am Saturday.
2) Sterling Caucus Saturday - This Saturday, Sterling District
Democrats will be caucusing to choose between Al Nevarez and Bhari
Alireza who are vying for the Democratic nomination to run against
Eugene Delgaudio. The caucus will be held from 12noon to 4pm on
Saturday, and the LCDC is looking for volunteers to help out. If
you're interested in *how* the Democratic party chooses its nominees,
this is a fantastic opportunity to witness a firehouse primary (i.e.,
an unassembled caucus), first hand. If you can help out, please
contact Mike Turner at mrturner13@gmail.com.
3) Loudoun County Fair Next Week - The Loudoun Democrats will have a
tent at next week's Loudoun County Fair
(http://loudouncountyfair.com/
campaigns will be active in the tent at different times. This means
that every campaign in Loudoun will be asking for people to help them
at the tent. If you have a few hours during the week (or next
Saturday) that you can contribute to the effort, I know our local
campaigns (Kelly Burk, Dave Butler, Mark Herring, Jennifer Wexton, Tom
Marshall, Tom Bellanca, just to name those who will be on the ballot
here in Town) will deeply appreciate any help they can get manning the
Fair. If you can help out, please reach out to one of the campaigns,
or let me know and I'll coordinate with a campaign on your behalf -
paradox13va@gmail.com or cell 443-421-0343.
4) Mark Herring Weekend Of Action, July 30 and 31st - The Herring for
Senate campaign is sponsoring a Weekend of Action
(http://markherring.org/
at the end of July. For details on phone banking or events outside of
Leesburg, contact Lauren Rainerd at the Herring campaign
(lauren@markherring.org). For the Leesburg District, I would like to
lead a dozen volunteers strong on the Herring Canvass of the new
Tolbert precinct on Sunday, the 31st. We'll be heading out from Harper
Park Middle School at 12:30pm, and then head to Sen. Herring's house
for his annual Ears and Cheers volunteer event, which every Democrat
in Leesburg should attend at least once! Please RSVP for the Weekend
of Action to Lauren at lauren@markherring.org.
5) Baseball Suite Raffle - The Friends of Loudoun Mental Health, which
provides much-needed vocational services to a very underserved local
community, is holding a fundraising raffle. A local business has
graciously donated use of their executive suite at Nationals Park for
four people, complete with free food, drinks and parking. There will
be a raffle for the suite and only 250 raffle tickets will be sold.
Raffle tickets cost $20 for one ticket, $35 for two tickets or $80 for
five tickets. Contact Katrina Cole (katcole07@verizon.net) to buy a
tickets for this chance at a one-of-a-kind baseball experience. The
drawing is this weekend, so buy today!
6) Democratic Family Playdate! - I know a lot of you on my list are
parents with young and youngish kids. Heck, that's what I am (two kids
under 4). And I know that has made it very hard for a lot of great
Democrats to be able to get involved with local Democratic events and
activities. After all, who is going to watch the kids? So, here's what
we're going to do. We're going to hold a big playdate at the
playground next to Rust Library one Sunday afternoon, and invite all
the Democratic parents in Town (that's you!) to bring their kids, so
we can all get to know each other a bit better while the kids
entertain each other on the swings, slides, and such. Right now, I'm
considering either Sunday the 14th of August, or Sunday the 28th of
August for this event. Please email me (paradox13va@gmail.com) and let
me know which date works better, and RSVP if you can make it, with how
many kids.
7) Meetings - The next LCDC meeting is Thursday August 4th at 7pm at
Tolbert Elementary school. We'll be hearing form School Board
candidates who will be vying for the LCDC's endorsement. The next
Leesburg Dems meeting is the following Thursday evening, August 11th
at 8pm at Sal's.
8) Yard Signs / Stickers - Please email me (paradox13va@gmail.com) and
let me know if you are willing to put yard signs in your yard, and if
you want bumper stickers for any of our candidates. Name recognition
is going to matter, and showing our colors in our communities can, and
does, make a difference.
9) Kelly Burk Wine - If you want a bottle of Kelly Burk brand wine
(it's a light white) it's a donation of $20, and will be worth ten
times that when Kelly's President. Contact me (paradox13va@gmail.com)
if you want some.
Mark Herring - www.markherring.org
Dave Butler - www.votedavebutler.com
Kelly Burk - www.kellyburk2011.com
Jennifer Wexton - www.votewexton.com
Tom Bellanca - www.tom4loudoun.org
Go Dems!
Evan
P.S. Check out www.leesburgtomorrow.us for a bit of my personal
political philosophy.
Evan Macbeth
Leesburg Democrats
paradox13va@gmail.com - T: @Paradox13VA
www.leesburgtomorrow.us and www.loudounprogress.org
calls and extra dollars can make all the difference. Kelly Burk, Tom
Marshall, Dave Butler and Jennifer Wexton are out canvassing Leesburg
and surrounding precincts every single weekend, and every day in many
cases, so get out and join them. This is how we win. Links to
candidate websites, where you can volunteer with campaigns directly,
are at the bottom of this email. Otherwise contact me -
paradox13va@gmail.com or 443-421-0343.
1) OFA Voter Registration Saturday - There will be a major, nationwide
voter registration effort sponsored by the Obama 2012 campaign this
Saturday! If there's enough activity, locally, we may get national
news coverage. If you can help out on Saturday morning, contact Jan
Wilson - jan@smartneighborhood.net. The effort will be launching out
of her house in Lansdowne at 8:30am Saturday.
2) Sterling Caucus Saturday - This Saturday, Sterling District
Democrats will be caucusing to choose between Al Nevarez and Bhari
Alireza who are vying for the Democratic nomination to run against
Eugene Delgaudio. The caucus will be held from 12noon to 4pm on
Saturday, and the LCDC is looking for volunteers to help out. If
you're interested in *how* the Democratic party chooses its nominees,
this is a fantastic opportunity to witness a firehouse primary (i.e.,
an unassembled caucus), first hand. If you can help out, please
contact Mike Turner at mrturner13@gmail.com.
3) Loudoun County Fair Next Week - The Loudoun Democrats will have a
tent at next week's Loudoun County Fair
(http://loudouncountyfair.com/
campaigns will be active in the tent at different times. This means
that every campaign in Loudoun will be asking for people to help them
at the tent. If you have a few hours during the week (or next
Saturday) that you can contribute to the effort, I know our local
campaigns (Kelly Burk, Dave Butler, Mark Herring, Jennifer Wexton, Tom
Marshall, Tom Bellanca, just to name those who will be on the ballot
here in Town) will deeply appreciate any help they can get manning the
Fair. If you can help out, please reach out to one of the campaigns,
or let me know and I'll coordinate with a campaign on your behalf -
paradox13va@gmail.com or cell 443-421-0343.
4) Mark Herring Weekend Of Action, July 30 and 31st - The Herring for
Senate campaign is sponsoring a Weekend of Action
(http://markherring.org/
at the end of July. For details on phone banking or events outside of
Leesburg, contact Lauren Rainerd at the Herring campaign
(lauren@markherring.org). For the Leesburg District, I would like to
lead a dozen volunteers strong on the Herring Canvass of the new
Tolbert precinct on Sunday, the 31st. We'll be heading out from Harper
Park Middle School at 12:30pm, and then head to Sen. Herring's house
for his annual Ears and Cheers volunteer event, which every Democrat
in Leesburg should attend at least once! Please RSVP for the Weekend
of Action to Lauren at lauren@markherring.org.
5) Baseball Suite Raffle - The Friends of Loudoun Mental Health, which
provides much-needed vocational services to a very underserved local
community, is holding a fundraising raffle. A local business has
graciously donated use of their executive suite at Nationals Park for
four people, complete with free food, drinks and parking. There will
be a raffle for the suite and only 250 raffle tickets will be sold.
Raffle tickets cost $20 for one ticket, $35 for two tickets or $80 for
five tickets. Contact Katrina Cole (katcole07@verizon.net) to buy a
tickets for this chance at a one-of-a-kind baseball experience. The
drawing is this weekend, so buy today!
6) Democratic Family Playdate! - I know a lot of you on my list are
parents with young and youngish kids. Heck, that's what I am (two kids
under 4). And I know that has made it very hard for a lot of great
Democrats to be able to get involved with local Democratic events and
activities. After all, who is going to watch the kids? So, here's what
we're going to do. We're going to hold a big playdate at the
playground next to Rust Library one Sunday afternoon, and invite all
the Democratic parents in Town (that's you!) to bring their kids, so
we can all get to know each other a bit better while the kids
entertain each other on the swings, slides, and such. Right now, I'm
considering either Sunday the 14th of August, or Sunday the 28th of
August for this event. Please email me (paradox13va@gmail.com) and let
me know which date works better, and RSVP if you can make it, with how
many kids.
7) Meetings - The next LCDC meeting is Thursday August 4th at 7pm at
Tolbert Elementary school. We'll be hearing form School Board
candidates who will be vying for the LCDC's endorsement. The next
Leesburg Dems meeting is the following Thursday evening, August 11th
at 8pm at Sal's.
8) Yard Signs / Stickers - Please email me (paradox13va@gmail.com) and
let me know if you are willing to put yard signs in your yard, and if
you want bumper stickers for any of our candidates. Name recognition
is going to matter, and showing our colors in our communities can, and
does, make a difference.
9) Kelly Burk Wine - If you want a bottle of Kelly Burk brand wine
(it's a light white) it's a donation of $20, and will be worth ten
times that when Kelly's President. Contact me (paradox13va@gmail.com)
if you want some.
Mark Herring - www.markherring.org
Dave Butler - www.votedavebutler.com
Kelly Burk - www.kellyburk2011.com
Jennifer Wexton - www.votewexton.com
Tom Bellanca - www.tom4loudoun.org
Go Dems!
Evan
P.S. Check out www.leesburgtomorrow.us for a bit of my personal
political philosophy.
Evan Macbeth
Leesburg Democrats
paradox13va@gmail.com - T: @Paradox13VA
www.leesburgtomorrow.us and www.loudounprogress.org
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Gang Of Six- President Obama
I am truly in favor of our President Obama. But this Gang of 6 is making me sick. Because I don't understand why our President listen to the fake cries, when the other people are playing with our lives. You telling us to eat peas, when we are struggling so hard to be. This is not a game and when those you hurt have names mine big and plain Maurice Bryant or MoPoDC one of the same. Used to give in to avoid blame.
The American people have spoken you are more than a token. Now you look like you are choking when we were hoping you would be antidotal.
#Obama2012 #AskObama
Sunday, July 17, 2011
(The Problem We All Live With, by Norman Rockwell) Shout-out
Hat's off to the people that stood with Ruby doing her journey writing history. Shout-out to Mrs. Barbara Henry, Kevin Pollack and President Eisenhower for Integration and Lori McKenna for writing the song Ruby's shoes. Ruby couldn't not have done it without the help of a lot of people.See in 1960 we work together to help Ruby, in 2011 let's work together to help our Country "still learning not to judge a person by the color of their skin" by Ruby Bridges #Obama2012. MoPoDC
All of us that truly cares about our Country making it happen Together #Obama2012
Man, you are on point, way to go President Obama :). Another Great speech. Working Together, all of us that truly cares about our Country and how we appear making it happen Together Voting you back in next year #Obama2012 this time with both the House and Senate bring up the rear by getting involve and voting Shawn Mitchell for State Senate this Nov 8, 2011 this year. You Hear! MoPoDC
Saturday, July 16, 2011
HBO Sports Boxing Paul Williams vs. Lara Erislandy A Crazy Out Come
Quotes from Paul in his last fight with Lara, "What you see is what you get”.
My favorite is “You said it better than I could say it.” These were his remarks after beating Lara on July 9, 2011, which was a crazy outcome because the score cards had Lara winning the fight by a few points and in the end Paul took it.
But that was not the end of the craziness, then the announcers just stomped all over this man win. If that wasn't enough, I heard HBO hired new judges for this fight and then they dogged out the judges for their decision making on the fight.
Well I am here to tell you that I thought it was nice a fight and when I and others that were watching the fight and saw the score card that Lara was in the lead, we were surprise because we thought Paul fought a better fight and the new judges agreed with us.
What kind of establishment brings in people to do a job and then dog them out on National TV, because they didn't agree with you or your perception on things. Oh, I know, we call them politicians. I think all who has something negative to say about Paul’s win and Judges decisions should change their field of employment, either join a political campaign or find another job kissing butts because that was totally disgraceful in the way the announcers just ridiculed a man after his win.
My favorite is “You said it better than I could say it.” These were his remarks after beating Lara on July 9, 2011, which was a crazy outcome because the score cards had Lara winning the fight by a few points and in the end Paul took it.
But that was not the end of the craziness, then the announcers just stomped all over this man win. If that wasn't enough, I heard HBO hired new judges for this fight and then they dogged out the judges for their decision making on the fight.
Well I am here to tell you that I thought it was nice a fight and when I and others that were watching the fight and saw the score card that Lara was in the lead, we were surprise because we thought Paul fought a better fight and the new judges agreed with us.
What kind of establishment brings in people to do a job and then dog them out on National TV, because they didn't agree with you or your perception on things. Oh, I know, we call them politicians. I think all who has something negative to say about Paul’s win and Judges decisions should change their field of employment, either join a political campaign or find another job kissing butts because that was totally disgraceful in the way the announcers just ridiculed a man after his win.
I know, this may sound crazy as well, but I’m going to put it out there anyway. The problem with the sport leagues is that some people feel that some of these events are rigged, fake, and phony and what I saw the other day was far from that.
I have noticed this in the past with other sports events. I thought it was a great idea to have new faces, new judges or just someone that was not benefitting from the outcome of the event other then getting a paycheck for services rendered.
If we had more people like these judges that judge this fight, I think the entire league could prosper more and more real talent will emerge because they believe they will have a fair chance to prove themselves and the interest in the sport events should increase. Like I said, I know it sounds crazy especially when you have people at the helm that wishes to do things their old politic way just because they are in the position to do so.
I also like to send a congrats to Paul and those judges, thank you for having a love for the sport and not just the people in it. As you can tell, I wish more people felt and acted that way,
giving the win to the best man at the time. Good luck to all, and may the best man win in the rematch.
I also like to send a congrats to Paul and those judges, thank you for having a love for the sport and not just the people in it. As you can tell, I wish more people felt and acted that way,
giving the win to the best man at the time. Good luck to all, and may the best man win in the rematch.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Social Security has never contributed a dime to the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt…not one penny to our federal budget deficit this year or any year in our nation’s history.”
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)“As I’ve said, Social Security is not the primary driver of our long-term deficits and debt.”
— President Obama, July 11, 2011
“Social Security has never contributed a dime to the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt…not one penny to our federal budget deficit this year or any year in our nation’s history.”
— Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.). July 8, 2011
President Obama, at a news conference Monday, continued to press for the “biggest deal possible” that would combine spending cuts and new tax revenue in order to reach an agreement on raising the debt limit. He made it clear that some sort of tinkering with Social Security could be on the table.
“It’s not an option for us to just sit by and do nothing,” Obama told reporters. “And if you’re a progressive who cares about the integrity of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, and believes that it is part of what makes our country great that we look after our seniors and we look after the most vulnerable, then we have an obligation to make sure that we make those changes that are required to make it sustainable over the long term.”
That kind of talk has some Democrats nervous. Rep. Xavier Becerra,vice chair of the House Democratic Congress, made a declarative statement last Friday that Social Security has “never contributed a dime” to the national debt, “not one penny” to the budget deficit this year. He feels so passionate about this fact that, after the Fact Checker called his office about the statement, Becerra immediately got on the phone himself to defend it, saying it does not deserve any Pinocchios.
Obama, in his news conference Monday, put it a little differently, saying, “Social Security is not the primary driver of our long-term deficits and debt.” That phrasing would suggest it contributes in some way to long-term deficits and debt, though not in a substantial way. Obama indicated he was focused on the future: “The reason to do Social Security is to strengthen Social Security to make sure that those benefits are there for seniors in the out-years,” he said.
So what’s going on here?
The Facts
Social Security was created in response to the pervasive poverty during the Great Depression. It is designed to provide workers with a basic level of income in retirement, as well as disability and life insurance while they work. Just over 60 percent of the 54 million beneficiaries are retired workers; the rest are disabled workers, dependents or survivors.
The benefits are progressive, meaning lower-income workers get a relatively better deal than higher-income workers; however, workers making above a certain salary ($106,800 this year) don’t have to pay as much of their income into the system. The benefits are inflation-adjusted, a feature that is almost impossible to find in the U.S. annuity market.
About 96 percent of workers must pay a certain amount of their paycheck to the system, an amount that is matched by their employers. (Some state and local workers don’t participate in Social Security; normally the employee rate is 6.2 percent of salary, but it was reduced to 4.2 percent this year as part of a “payroll tax holiday”.)
Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system, which means that payments collected today are immediately used to pay benefits. Until recently, more payments were collected than were needed for benefits. So Social Security loaned the money to the U.S. government, which used it for other things. In exchange, Social Security received interest-bearing Treasury securities. The value of those bonds is now about $2.6 trillion.
Wait, some of you are saying now, those bonds are just “worthless IOUs.” Please put that thought aside now. We will get back to it later.
The key to understanding what’s going on now is a Congressional Budget Office document that shows the flow of money in and out of the Social Security funds. Becerra looks at this document and sees income of $805 billion and total outgo of $733 billion, for a surplus of $72 billion.
But another part of that chart shows what it calls “primary surplus.” That line item hows a deficit in 2011 of $45 billion. Becerra dismisses that figure, urging a look at the footnote: “Primary surplus is the surplus excluding interest paid to the trust fund.”
How is the interest paid? In more bonds. So primary surplus essentially means cash flow. After years of running a cash surplus, Social Security now has a negative cash flow. And that means the Treasury this year has to go into the private market and issue bonds to investors on Wall Street and overseas to pay that $45 billion in benefit payments — and also issue more bonds to Social Security to pay for that interest.
The bonds held by Social Security are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. (IOU is actually just another way of saying bond.) In theory, no president or Congress would risk defaulting on these bonds because it would ruin the nation’s financial standing.
The bonds are a real asset to Social Security, but — here’s where it gets complicated — they also represent an obligation by the rest of the government. Like any entity that issues debt, such as a corporation, the government will have to make good on its obligations, generally by taking the money out of revenue, reducing expenses or issuing new debt.
The action taken really depends on the resources available at the time. There is nothing particularly unusual about this, except that the U.S. government is better placed to make good on these obligations than virtually any other debt-issuer.
To some extent, this is a matter of theology.
Beccerra looks at the pile of $2.6 trillion in assets built up by Social Security, and says, correctly, that Social Security did not add to the debt; it is indeed a creditor to the United States. “I’m obviously concerned the federal government has to pay its debts, but it pales in comparison to the trillions the federal government has taken and borrowed from Social Security,” he said. (He also provided a fact sheetlaying out his case.)
But others can look at the same numbers and say this is just paper-shuffling among different parts of the U.S. government. There may be a legal — and moral — obligation to make good on the benefits promised to Social Security beneficiaries, but ultimately what matters is whether the system is running a positive cash flow.
We come down somewhat in the middle on this debate. The fact that the system is running a negative cash flow now — and the foreseeable future — is an important warning sign of fiscal imbalance.
And what did the president mean when he said Social Security was “not a primary driver” of the debt?
“The Social Security Trust Fund is running a surplus, continuing to build up assets, and projected to be solvent for decades. However, the system does face a long-term shortfall,” said Kenneth Baer, senior advisor and communications director at the White House budget director. “That shortfall adds to the federal government’s overall fiscal imbalance, but it is not a primary driver of it. The President is committed to strengthening the Social Security system and eliminating that shortfall so that the Social Security system is stable and secure for generations to come.”
The Pinocchio Test
Becerra is sincere in his convictions and his statement is true, so far as it goes. Yes, Social Security in the past has not contributed to the nation’s debt. But it’s basically a meaningless fact and actually distracts from the long-term fiscal problem posed by the retirement of the baby boom generation and the shrinking of the nation’s labor pool.
We are going to label this with that relatively rare rating: “true but false.” (Still need to get an icon!)
True But False
By | 06:00 AM ET, 07/12/2011
Categories: True but False, Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats, Economy
Categories: True but False, Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats, Economy
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