A few signs of the times, & a calculated raise

I came across some pretty interesting signs of the times this week. The one above, via the Consumerist, was taken at a McDonald's drive-thru. It's not bad enough that the food puts you in the grave early if you eat enough of it, or that I feel horrible for days after eating it, but now I can't even get extra sauce to cover up the nasty taste of just about everything on the menu? Great - thanks for some recession love, ya bastards.

Of course, if McDonald's really wants to make things right, it would provide a crucifix (or, thinking cheaply, a prayer card) with each burger. And all food should be garnished with two Imodium™ tablets. Thus, short-term and long-term implications would be covered. Ahh, it never hurts to dream. Perhaps my expectations are unrealistic - after all, what can we expect for a 99¢ burger?

More seriously, I'm sure you have all noticed a welcome trend leading up to the election...

I snapped this picture with my Blackberry™ Curve™ the other day on Kelly Dr. in Philadelphia. Pretty amazing that fuel prices have been plummeting leading up to election day. Gas prices have been steadily falling since late August, and in September they reached near free-fall status. They've been falling so far, in fact, that in some parts of Pennsylvania, including Berks County, where I work. On Friday, I noticed that a gallon was going for $2.75 in Kutztown, Pa., which would have been unthinkable even three months ago.

Heck, I was pleasantly surprised to see the price at left at a service plaza along the Pennsylvania Turnpike about a week ago, so my happiness has been spiking as the prices have been falling, especially since I commute 750 miles per week to my higher education job outside the Philadelphia 'burbs.

However, my point - I don't think the timing of falling gas prices is entirely coincidental. In fact, I think it's outright manipulation. It doesn't take a political scientist or pol to realize that Big Oil has big, BIG stakes in this election, and it's also pretty obvious which candidate Big Oil wants to see in the White House.

No matter who wins, I think we're going to see fuel prices rising exponentially after the election. The proof is already there to see, too; even energy groups are predicting rising heating oil costs this winter. Funny - gas prices are falling through the floor, as is the price of a barrel of oil, yet industry experts are predicting very high fuel oil prices. Do the math.

Something happened a few days ago that, in my mind, is a total manipulation of the government for political purposes -- the Social Security Administration announced a whopping increase of SS benefits.

From the Oct. 17 New York Times:

Social Security benefits for 50 million people will go up 5.8 percent next year, the largest increase in more than a quarter century. The increase, which will start in January, was announced by the Social Security Administration. It will mean an additional $63 a month for the average retiree, whose check will grow to $1,153 from $1,090. The increase is the largest since a 7.4 percent jump in 1982 and is more than double the 2.3 percent rise in January 2008. [Emphasis Mine]

First, I don't believe for a second that the Bush administration would ever enthusiastically give such an increase to retirees, unless it had plenty to gain politically from such a move. Conveniently, the announcement was timed to be 17 days from the Nov. 4 election.

The Bush administration, and most within the Republican Party, openly despise Social Security and have shown a propensity to do all it can to weaken the program, with the goal of ultimately eliminating it. Now, 17 days before the election, the biggest increase in benefits in 26 years is announced? I'm sure it's all just a coincidence.

Don't get me wrong - I'm totally for retirees getting a much-needed increase in their monthly checks. I'm just questioning the timing. Of course, if anyone in the White House press corps even had the temerity to question the timing, Dana Perino would scoff, saying, "the timing is totally coincidental." Yea, right. If Bush felt he could have gotten away with it, the increase would have been announced the Sunday morning before the election.

Just like the announcement of the verdict of Saddam Hussein was moved up weeks earlier than planned to the week before the '06 mid-term elections. When the then-White House press secretary, the late Tony Snow, was asked about it, he looked into the camera and said, with a straight face, that the administration "would never time such an announcement to interfere with an election."

There are other ways to manipulate the Social Security Administration, too, and the Bush administration is proceeding with full force. More on that a bit later.