Where have all the dollars gone...

Yeah, we're gonna have to privatize Social Security. It's just not working. It can't be fixed.

Never mind that it's one of the few government programs that does work. Granted, its constant and steady single-digit return on investment is far from stellar, but the program works as it should - to provide a retirement safety net.

See, the idea is that if you keep repeating that it's a failing program, people will believe it.

Why not? It worked when the administration wanted to march into Iraq. Where are those weapons of mass destruction? Here? No, maybe over here?

It's an oft-repeated strategy of repetition.

Republicans have been pushing this message so long and hard that most of America's young people and many of her old ones believe it too be true. Are you in your 20s or 30s? Do you think you'll be collecting Social Security? Neither did I.

Lucky me though. I did some research and found that the latest projections show that if left untouched, Social Security will continue paying out for about 34 years. Yippee. That puts me in my 70s, so I'll be getting some of mine.

That's assuming two things of course.

First, that the Republicans don't continue to try and squeeze it out of existence. And second, that a bi-partisan group of legislators actually sits down, does their job and finds ways to ensure that the popular program remains viable.

But Republicans really want to end this program. It's a reminder of all the social reforms they despise at the very core.

They don't see it as a successful program paid into by millions of hard-working Americans. They see it as an extension of welfare and food stamps. If you were successful and wise, you would have a comfortable retirement set up. Social Security is a wobbly crutch that encourages Americans to be less successful. To admit it has benefited millions of Americans would be to admit that perhaps their faith in the cult of big business was ill placed.

Therefore, the endless push to dismantle Social Security and hand it over to big business - privatization.

The problem is that most Americans don't want that. That's why you don't hear many Republicans utter the word privatization in the same paragraph - much less same sentence - as Social Security. What you will hear are terms like 'choice' and 'self direction'. It's all about distracting people with things that sound appealing until they become comfortable with them and thus slowly move toward the ultimate goal of handing over a functioning multi-billion dollar pention plan to big business.

That's not the only way for Republicans to attack Social Security though.

The second prong in the march to privatization is creating a fiscal crunch. It's one reason you don't hear much in the way of concern over neither the irresponsible deficit spending of the current administration nor the unwarranted tax kickbacks President Bush has championed since taking office.

See, there's a little secret that Republicans aren't letting you in on. They don't really mind big government - as long as it's their big government. They've been fertilizing and watering this one, that's for sure.

Who would have guessed that it would be the Republican guard that squandered the wealth of hard-working Americans? Well, a lot of Democrats it turns out. But that's a story for another day.

Today's story is about how Republicans are planning on stealing your retirement and giving away your grandchildren's security.

Eventually, all this spending has to be paid for. Even Republicans have to pay their tab sometime. And when the tab comes due, it's going to hurt the average Joe who will bear the brunt of footing the bill. If the bill is high enough, there will be no choice but to drastically cut government spending. Republicans are hoping that by then they'll have you convinced that it's Social Security - a program already funded - that's bleeding the country dry, not the massive bureaucracy building campaign they've been busy funding.

Thus, the tale of the two-pronged Republican assault on Social Security nears it's end. Only you should decide the final chapter...