Catch-22, W Style Part II

The New York Times has a fantastic(ally damning) editorial about Bush Administration budget math gymnastics, that as involved and absurd as it might be, doesn't really begin to capture fully the nightmare of deception that is the current White House Budget (for a more thorough thrashing I would recommend this bit from Salon's War Room).

Catch-22, W-Style

Okay, this little quote from our illustrious Harvard MBA “CEO” President attempting to describe the whys and wherefores of Social Security “reform” is by now infamous and blogged to death:

THE PRESIDENT: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised.
Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red.

Okay, better? I'll keep working on it.

At the moment, I happen to be reading Catch-22, and the following passage struck me as strangely appropriate. I’ve edited it somewhat to clarify its relevance to our current “dialogue”:

Yossarian was still puzzled, for it was a business matter, and there was much about business matters that always puzzled him.

“Let me try to explain it to you again,” (Bush) offered with growing weariness and exasperation, jerking his thumb toward the (red-stater) with the sweet tooth, still grinning beside him. “I knew he wanted the (guaranteed benefits) more than the (Social Security privatization). Since he doesn’t understand a word of English, I made it a point to conduct the whole transaction in English.”

“Why didn’t you just hit him over the head and take the (guaranteed benefits) away from him?” Yosarrian asked.

Pressing his lips together with dignity, Milo shook his head. “That would have been most unjust,” he scolded firmly. “Force is wrong, and two wrongs never make a right. It was much better my way. When I held the (Social Security privatization) out to him and reached for the (guaranteed benefits), he probably thought I was offering to trade.”

“What were you doing?”

“Actually, I was offering to trade, but since he doesn’t understand English I can always deny it.”

“Suppose he gets angry and wants the (guaranteed benefits)?”

“Why, we’ll just hit him over the head and take them away from him,” (Bush) answered without hesitation. He looked from Yosarrian to McWatt and back again. “I really can’t see what everyone is complaining about. We’re all much better off than before. Everybody is happy but this (red-stater), and there’s no sense worrying about him, since he doesn’t even speak our language and deserves whatever he gets. Don’t you understand?”

But Yosarrian still didn’t understand either how (Bush) could buy eggs in Malta for seven cents apiece and sell them at a profit in Pianosa for five cents…