As Lawrence O'Donnell noted in his "Rewrite" segment this Friday, after not realizing when to shut his mouth during the debate at the Reagan Library this week on whether or not he actually believed that Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme" and a "monstrous lie" to our kids, it appears he's now attempting to "rewrite" his remarks.
From ThinkProgress -- Rick Perry Says It’s ‘Misinformation’ To Suggest He Wants To Abolish Social Security:
Today at a campaign stop in Newport Beach, California, one attendee asked Perry for his reaction to Romney’s charge that he wants to “abolish Social Security because it’s a Ponzi scheme.” Perry responded, “I’d say that’s misinformation“:
ATTENDEE: Romney’s advisers said you want to abolish Social Security because it’s a Ponzi scheme. What do you say to that?
PERRY: I’d say that’s misinformation. We just want to fix it.
ATTENDEE: Are they distorting your record?
PERRY: (No response, shakes his head.)
O'Donnell went on to explain why Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme and why it's not going to go broke, ever. There is the matter of how much we are willing to put into the program and how much it should be paying out, but it's fully funded for years to come as we've discussed here already, as long as it has workers paying their payroll taxes and continuing to fund the system.
O'Donnell finished up by explaining why Ponzi might have got a kick out of Perry.
O'DONNELL: Charles Ponzi who was as much of an egomaniac as any of our politicians, would probably get a big kick out of Rick Perry. When Ponzi got out of prison for the last time in Boston, it was actually in Charlestown, where he got out of prison, he told reporters, “I went looking for trouble, and I got it.” If the Perry campaign does not yet have a motto, I know of nothing more fitting than the words of Charles Ponzi, “I went looking for trouble, and I got it.”