Accounting is politics by other means. Balance sheets are bullets. -- Malcolm X. Lowenstein
-----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Michael Perelman Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 12:11 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Social Security Now the Jim Devine has nailed Social Security, I feel timid asking a question about the subject. While Clinton was in power, there was talk about all sorts of unfunded mandates, like the need to clean up toxic waste dumps. The recent New York Times article about robotic warriors suggested difficulty about paying off military pensions: "The Pentagon today owes its soldiers $653 billion in future retirement benefits that it cannot presently pay. Robots, unlike old soldiers, do not fade away. The median lifetime cost of a soldier is about $4 million today and growing, according to a Pentagon study." Maybe it is time to ask for a public accounting of these unfunded mandates before the tax benefits become enshrined in stone. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
