BlairWitch749
Banned
A new social promise and opportunity A special offshoot of chapter 31 100 days series - I don't understand the Democrats' approach to Social Security in this country, and I'm not alone - William Weld (Senator Weld ITTL)
The Spring Summer and early Fall of 1997, Washington DC
The SPOA would become the signature legislative action of Phil Gramm's 1997-2001 period; although it was a bitter and hard fought battle; it's first introduction to the media was in an interview that Phil Gramm gave to 60 minutes on CBS where he named it as the next great change to come to America... and following this announcement, members of his administration and republicans on the hill began making the rounds with the newspapers and Sunday talk shows to tout Dunn's SPOA.
Out front for the administration where Dunn and Michael Dell. Dell was quickly won over to the plan when he saw the potential of the huge influx of new monies into the stock market which would spur massive growth and investment capabilities for the blue chips and even smaller players in the S&P 500 and Russel 2000 index which would be offered to the taxpayers. Dunn was calm and collected in her evaluation of the program which she labeled as necessary to grow the economy for the 21st century with Tim Russert on Meet the Press
The congressional speerpoint was held by William Weld in the senate. Weld had a strong business background and had worked financial miracles in Mass during his time as governor; bringing the states budget into order for the first time in many years; the man was able to get reelected in 1994 with a stunning 74 percent of the vote in a highly democratic state, so it was no surprise that he was Gramm's chosen leader on this project. Weld cogently explained over and over again that social security would finally begin to distance itself from inflation, and divorce itself from the governments general operations and borrowing schemes.
Blandishments aside the status quo, inertia and the democrats where difficult obstacles to be tackled. Bob Graham from Florida naturally lead the effort to roadblock SPOA. He labeled it as the end to social security and the installation of Las Vegas as the retirement savings account in a Miami Herald Op-Ed. Tom Daschle, Richard Gephardt and the new chairman of the democratic national committee Leon Panetta put together a concerted effort to label the plan as a tool of big business to play roulette with the country's retirement savings; the effect began to tell; Connie Mack was safe having just been comfortably reelected beside Phil Gramm; but the house members looking at the always looming midterms where not. Whilst the debate raged... assemblyman Jeff Miller (staying as a democrat) successfully won a special election taking Florida's first district which had been vacated by Joe Scarborough becoming white house chief of staff... Tillie Fowler's former seat also in northern Florida (4th) was only narrowly taken by Michael Bennett who had left his position in the state senate to run to keep the seat for the Republicans.
It was much the same across the sun belt as the democrats pounded message after message across the full spectrum of media decrying any change to social security as it's destruction with potential elimination of benefits that people had worked for.
Gramm held firm, responding to attacks over the summer, drawing comparison to the SPOA and the CALPERS state pension plan which continued to be heavily successful in the red hot stock market...the stock market as well accepted the plan positively; CNBC's Larry Kudlow and Mark Haines came out emphatically in favor of the plan and continued to make Michael Dell a repeat guest on their shows; and progress in various congressional proceedings saw the DOW Jones continue to jump as the plan looked like it would come to be
The Democrats where not the only ones to charge a price for having to take such a difficult vote; the previous fucking with Missouri on defense appropriations early in the year saw Bond and Ashcroft "listen" to their senior citizens and demand and gain additional unpopular concessions from Gramm which saw additional new modified KC-135's having to be built in Missouri along with a new national guard depot.... the biggest sop was that the SOPA server farm and administrative functions would have to be based in St. Louis instead of the more logical and preferred areas in Northern Virginia under consideration. Ashcroft proved to be one of the bigger thorns in Gramm's side about the SPOA even more so than some democrats as Gramm had been able to gain some lukewarm support from California's Diane Feinstein who saw the useful comparisons between CALPERS and the SPOA plan
On September 16th 1997 the SPOA passed the house 267-165 with 19 democrats supporting and 2 republicans joining the dissenters; and it passed the senate 3 days later 61-37 with Phil Gram signing it later in the day. 6 months would be set aside to get the program in place and at the end of the 1st quarter in 1998; the American taxpayer would get to make their first allocation decision
Some of the talking heads in financial circles predicted that on passage of the SPOA that the stock market would take another massive leg forward. This didn't materialize as the Dow Jones industrial average had gained more than 2000 points during the year already (historical) and the passage of the SPOA was already priced in to the market as it sat at the highs of the year at 9000 points. It was one of the more bittersweet ironies that on the day Gramm signed the SPOA into law, the Dow lost 165 points as the wall street movers decided to lock in some of their large profits the year had already brought them
to be continued...
thoughts?
The Spring Summer and early Fall of 1997, Washington DC
The SPOA would become the signature legislative action of Phil Gramm's 1997-2001 period; although it was a bitter and hard fought battle; it's first introduction to the media was in an interview that Phil Gramm gave to 60 minutes on CBS where he named it as the next great change to come to America... and following this announcement, members of his administration and republicans on the hill began making the rounds with the newspapers and Sunday talk shows to tout Dunn's SPOA.
Out front for the administration where Dunn and Michael Dell. Dell was quickly won over to the plan when he saw the potential of the huge influx of new monies into the stock market which would spur massive growth and investment capabilities for the blue chips and even smaller players in the S&P 500 and Russel 2000 index which would be offered to the taxpayers. Dunn was calm and collected in her evaluation of the program which she labeled as necessary to grow the economy for the 21st century with Tim Russert on Meet the Press
The congressional speerpoint was held by William Weld in the senate. Weld had a strong business background and had worked financial miracles in Mass during his time as governor; bringing the states budget into order for the first time in many years; the man was able to get reelected in 1994 with a stunning 74 percent of the vote in a highly democratic state, so it was no surprise that he was Gramm's chosen leader on this project. Weld cogently explained over and over again that social security would finally begin to distance itself from inflation, and divorce itself from the governments general operations and borrowing schemes.
Blandishments aside the status quo, inertia and the democrats where difficult obstacles to be tackled. Bob Graham from Florida naturally lead the effort to roadblock SPOA. He labeled it as the end to social security and the installation of Las Vegas as the retirement savings account in a Miami Herald Op-Ed. Tom Daschle, Richard Gephardt and the new chairman of the democratic national committee Leon Panetta put together a concerted effort to label the plan as a tool of big business to play roulette with the country's retirement savings; the effect began to tell; Connie Mack was safe having just been comfortably reelected beside Phil Gramm; but the house members looking at the always looming midterms where not. Whilst the debate raged... assemblyman Jeff Miller (staying as a democrat) successfully won a special election taking Florida's first district which had been vacated by Joe Scarborough becoming white house chief of staff... Tillie Fowler's former seat also in northern Florida (4th) was only narrowly taken by Michael Bennett who had left his position in the state senate to run to keep the seat for the Republicans.
It was much the same across the sun belt as the democrats pounded message after message across the full spectrum of media decrying any change to social security as it's destruction with potential elimination of benefits that people had worked for.
Gramm held firm, responding to attacks over the summer, drawing comparison to the SPOA and the CALPERS state pension plan which continued to be heavily successful in the red hot stock market...the stock market as well accepted the plan positively; CNBC's Larry Kudlow and Mark Haines came out emphatically in favor of the plan and continued to make Michael Dell a repeat guest on their shows; and progress in various congressional proceedings saw the DOW Jones continue to jump as the plan looked like it would come to be
The Democrats where not the only ones to charge a price for having to take such a difficult vote; the previous fucking with Missouri on defense appropriations early in the year saw Bond and Ashcroft "listen" to their senior citizens and demand and gain additional unpopular concessions from Gramm which saw additional new modified KC-135's having to be built in Missouri along with a new national guard depot.... the biggest sop was that the SOPA server farm and administrative functions would have to be based in St. Louis instead of the more logical and preferred areas in Northern Virginia under consideration. Ashcroft proved to be one of the bigger thorns in Gramm's side about the SPOA even more so than some democrats as Gramm had been able to gain some lukewarm support from California's Diane Feinstein who saw the useful comparisons between CALPERS and the SPOA plan
On September 16th 1997 the SPOA passed the house 267-165 with 19 democrats supporting and 2 republicans joining the dissenters; and it passed the senate 3 days later 61-37 with Phil Gram signing it later in the day. 6 months would be set aside to get the program in place and at the end of the 1st quarter in 1998; the American taxpayer would get to make their first allocation decision
Some of the talking heads in financial circles predicted that on passage of the SPOA that the stock market would take another massive leg forward. This didn't materialize as the Dow Jones industrial average had gained more than 2000 points during the year already (historical) and the passage of the SPOA was already priced in to the market as it sat at the highs of the year at 9000 points. It was one of the more bittersweet ironies that on the day Gramm signed the SPOA into law, the Dow lost 165 points as the wall street movers decided to lock in some of their large profits the year had already brought them
to be continued...
thoughts?
