Hurricane Katrina killed over 1,800 people. The September 11, 2001 attacks killed some 3,000 people. The oil spill killed 11.
Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster. The oil spill is a man-made catastrophe.
Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of a major American city and displaced, oh, let’s say about 1,000,000 people. The oil spill has displaced 0 people.
No one but the government and insurance companies could compensate the victims of Hurricane Katrina. No one but the government and insurance companies could respond to the September 11 attacks. BP can compensate the victims of the oil spill. So can the US Coast Guard, through the National Pollution Funds Center.

The earthquake in Haiti killed over 200,000 people. It made, oh, about 1,000,000 people homeless. It rendered a government completely incapable of functioning. No one could help those people, no one was to blame. So we helped.
The tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed over 200,000 people in FOURTEEN COUNTRIES. No one could help those people, no one was to blame. So we helped.

This is not the President’s Katrina, it’s not the President’s 9/11, and it SURE AS HELL is not the MOST IMPORTANT THING EVAR. There are some 50,000+ wells/bore holes in the Gulf of Mexico (as of May 2010). Exactly 1 has produced this mess. In 2008, federal leases in the Gulf produced some 400+ million barrels of oil. That means this leak would have been about 0.06% of total 2008 production in the Gulf.

Is it a lot? Yes. Is it environmentally bad? Yes. Is a moratorium required? No. Does this require the President’s undivided attention? Hell, no – we have a Coast Guard, a DOI, a NOAA, an EPA.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaa,” cries the Executive Office of the President, as Arizona passes an immigration law of questionable substance. “The federal government is bad at its job!”

Why? There are at least four agencies in charge of immigration policy:
Department of Justice – Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Homeland Security – Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services
Department of Homeland Security – Bureau of Immigration & Customs Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security – Bureau of Customs & Border Protection

Then there are the information-sharing agencies with border responsibility:
Department of Justice – Drug Enforcement Administration
Department of Labor – Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Department of Homeland Security – United States Coast Guard
Department of Homeland Security – Transportation Security Administration

Hey, you know who can fix that? The Secretary of Homeland Security, for starters.

Whiny bitches.

Let’s get serious about the two largest (and fastest-growing) entitlement programs that are driving the growth of the Federal government: Social Security and Medicare.

Here are the facts:

In 1935, Social Security Old Ages, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits began at age 62, and the average life expectancy (at birth) was 62 years.

In 1961, Social Security OASDI retirement age was indexed up to 67 years, but average life expectancy had increased to 70 years.

In 2007, Social Security OASDI retirement age remains 67 years, but average life expectancy has increased to 78 years.

In 1965, Medicare was passed. Mandatory enrollment in Medicare Part A begins at age 65. At the time, average life expectancy was 70 years.

In 2007, mandatory Medicare Part A enrollment remains at age 65, but life expectancy has increase to 78 years.

Solutions:

1. Option 1 is to meet the apparent original intent of the legislation. OASDI (full benefit) eligibility should begin at the average life expectancy (that would make full social security benefits payable at age 78 under our current system – drawing earlier means getting a reduced benefit). Medicare implies a 5-year gap between eligibility age and average life expectancy (that would make Medicare eligibility age 73).

2. Option 2 is to index eligibility based on the percentage increase in average life expectancy. Since Social Security has passed, average life expectancy is up 26%. Applying that to the original retirement age of 62, that means full benefits would be payable at age 78 (62 years times 1.26). Since Medicare passed, average life expectancy is up 11%. That would make Medicare eligibility age 72 (65 years times 1.11).

It is worth noting that older workers are participating in the labor force at much greater rates. The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t go back very far, but the trends are rather amazing – justifying these proposed eligibility increases:

Workers ages 65-69 participated in the labor force at a rate of about 20% in 1982. In 2008, that was 29%.

Workers ages 70-74 participated in the labor force at a rate of about 10% in 1987. In 2008, that was 17.3%

Workers ages 75 and up participated in the labor force at a rate of about 4% in 1987. In 2008, that was 6.9%

In summary:

1. People are living longer.

2. People are working longer.

Therefore, people don’t need the safety nets as early as we are giving them.