"Scout" said:
Perhaps we are trying too hard to break down complex issues
into simple truths. Dave seems to thrive on doing the opposite.


Dave wrote:
Quite the contrary, Scout. Let me put it even more simply.

SS is a promise to pay.

No it isn't. Social Security is complex gov't program combining
insurance & pension benefits... plus other goodies... paid for by a
regressive tax. It is not comparable to a private for-profit investment
or insurance company despite attempts to describe it as such.

It could with some fairness be described as a pyramid (or Ponzi) scam,
but then 1- it's the gov't and 2- that part of the "security."

... A bond is a promise to pay--nothing more.

A bond is a contract. I suppose you could consider a contract "a
promise" but that is either a gross oversimplification, or simply a
misleading phrase. But hey, you're a lawyer....

... When you
add one to the other, the only difference is in the question: Is it "will
you break your promise?" or "will you break both of your promises?"


So you insist that the real problem here is that you don't trust
President Bush to keep the US gov't running smoothly enouth to avoid
default?

I don't like him either but IMHO he's not *that* bad.

Is that truth simple enough for you?


Considering that what you've stated is not the truth, no.

DSK