The FBI continues to use U.S. tax dollars to promote the views of the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, even though the group's leaders have written for the Communist Party, honored a convicted cop-killer, and praised a radical anti-American activist who planted bombs at the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol, and police stations.
The FBI's official web site displays a page on "hate crimes" that provides a direct Internet link to the SPLC's own web site. That's where anti-American terror bomber Bill Ayers, leader of the '60s-era militant Weather Underground terror organization that planted bombs targeting police stations, is praised as "fighting for social justice" and described as a "highly respected figure" who has "developed a rich vision."
Ayers told the New York Times in 2011, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Ayers is described by SPLC as a Vietnam War-era "anti-war activist," even though Ayers, far from opposing the war, actively worked for Communist North Vietnam's victory over the U.S. His political manifesto, "Prairie Fire" is dedicated to Sirhan Sirhan, the convicted assassin of Robert F. Kennedy. He said he considers himself a "small c" communist.
Another of SPLC's radical connections is Mark Potok, director of the SPLC's "intelligence project." He has written for the Communist Party's official online publication, the People's World.
SPLC's friendliness with Ayers is not the organization's only association with cop-haters. SPLC board member James Rucker apparently has a soft spot for cop-killers. Rucker is founder and chairman of ColorofChange.org, which vows to honor the memory of convicted cop-killer Troy Davis who was recently executed by the state of Georgia for the murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah. In an email to members signed by Rucker, ColorofChange said it was "saddened to have to report that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole refused to grant clemency for Troy Davis..." Rucker's ColorofChange said on its homepage, "Rest in peace, Troy. We honor your memory by continuing the work."
MANews Columnist Appointed to State
Immigration Panel, Denounced by SPLC
Middle American News columnist Phil Kent was named last month to a seven-member panel in Georgia created to oversee enforcement of the state's new law against hiring illegal immigrants. The appointment sparked immediate denunciations from open borders advocates and at least one left-wing defender of a notorious cop killer. Georgia's new law is modeled after Arizona's landmark immigration legislation that President Barack Obama and a host of left-wing groups and big business associations hope to overturn in the courts.
Kent, who also serves as spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control (AIC), which fought to get the law enacted, was named to the Immigration Enforcement Review Board by Gov. Nathan Deal. The board has the power to investigate complaints about violations of the immigration law by city, county and state officials.
Kent's history of activism to control illegal immigration long ago earned him the ire of left-wing groups and other opponents of the law who swifty denounced his appointment. The radical left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, which has already filed suit against the law, called Kent "a hate group leader," a charge echoed by Jay Bookman, a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who called Kent a "bigot."
The SPLC, which supports open borders, often attacks immigration control activists and conservative groups and individuals. It refers to MSNBC commentator and syndicated columnist Patrick Buchanan as a "white nationalist," and claims that both AIC and FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, are "hate groups."
The SPLC remains influential among journalists despite its links to far left radicals. Mark Potok, the SPLC's director of its "intelligence project," has written articles for the People's World, the official online publication of the Communist Party. SPLC's affiliate, Tolerance.org, praises Pentagon terror bomber and self-professed communist William Ayers, leader of the terrorist "weather underground organization" who dedicated his political manifesto to Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy.
Most recently, SPLC board member James Rucker defended convicted cop killer Troy Davis who was executed this month in Georgia. Said Rucker: "Rest in peace, Troy. We honor your memory by continuing the work."
A Proposal to Fix Social Security
By Brenton Smith
Milton Friedman once observed, “If the government ran the Sahara, in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” He is right. The government has run Social Security for 70 years, and now there is a shortage of security. Today more than 80% of Americans believe that Social Security is heading for crisis if the government does not implement a major reform. Conceptually Social Security is designed to provide insurance for old-age and disability, and now it only provides uncertainty for the vast majority of Americans.
Instead of gauging the effectiveness of the program, the debate in Washington is centered on how to pay for it. Washington sees the lack of money as the problem in Social Security. Actually what Washington sees as the problem, is really a symptom of a deeper rooted disease. The problem is that Social Security is a bad investment, and it should surprise no one that a bad investment runs out of money.\
The experts want us to treat the symptom, and rather than the disease. Their solutions – raise taxes and lower benefits - deal with the solvency of the Trust Fund. Unfortunately, these solutions make the disease worse. As costs increase and benefits drop, people will flee the system.
Any solution must improve the economic returns of the system for all generations. The best way to increase the return on contribution is to address two basic design flaws in Social Security. First, it has an investment policy that is completely inconsistent with the lofty goals of the system. Second, the system applies a benefits formula that fails miserably to allocate risk efficiently.
Ultimately the solution for the Social Security system will involve variable benefits which enable those who wish to have less risk to trade traditional benefits for better security. The solution will also enable those who wish to have better returns the ability to absorb the risk of having the portfolio invested in more productive assets. Without risk, Social Security will over time fail to deliver the one thing that people want from the system: security.
To achieve reform, we need to focus on three things. We need to increase the amount of choice. Choice will invariably lower costs while giving people higher quality benefits. We need to lower the risk inherent in the system. The only way to accomplish this goal is to incorporate risk into the benefits equation. Finally, we need to improve the returns of the Trust Fund itself. All of these goals can be accomplished at low cost with innovation.
MORE CHOICE
Social Security needs more choice. Today Social Security is a one product offering which pays based on work and contribution. The worker has no say in how the money is invested. The retiree has very little choice about how to receive payment.
The one-size fits all solution is very expensive. For example, I would gladly give-up 50% of my benefits in order to get more certainty about payment. Unfortunately, the government does not offer people this choice – or any choice for that matter. So the government pays twice as much in order to deliver lousy benefits.
LOWER RISK
As we learned in the debt ceiling discussion, the investment policy of the Social Security Trust Fund has put our seniors at risk. The President said that he didn’t know whether checks could be paid despite a Trust Fund holding 2.5 trillion dollars. This uncertainty is what we call overnight failure.
The assets of the Social Security Trust Fund should be diversified to protect Americans from this risk because the audience served by Social Security does not adapt well to economic change.
HIGHER RETURNS
I would hope that all Americans can agree on one thing: it is wrong to ask more of workers and give less to retirees when the system invests money so poorly. By comparison, the S&P index has beaten the investment strategy of the Social Security Trust Fund by more than 50 to 1 since 1926.
Last year, the system took about 160 billion dollars from workers today, and invested the money in 2 7/8% government bonds. Congressman didn’t do it with their money so it is only fair to ask why the nation pension is. This strategy puts those with the fewest options at the greatest risk.
OUR INNOVATION
Our model at Fix Social Security Now does not change Social Security at all. We add new benefits around the existing system. People can trade existing benefits that they do not want for benefits that they like more.
First, we create new benefits which cost less to deliver. As workers choose these new benefits, they get better benefits and the system saves money in the process.
Second, we enable the Trust Fund to invest in higher yielding assets in a shared risk model with a specific worker or a pool of workers. If the higher yield assets make money, the Trust win enjoy higher returns. If the assets lose money, the Trust is protected by lower future expenses.
In the net result, Americans will be able to choose a set of benefits which meet their needs better, and help the system save resources.
For More Information, visit www.fixssnow.org
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