Washington Panorama
March 2005
The view of the nation from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will probably be a skewed view because at this time of year our area is mostly black (night) and white (day) with little in between. It is hard to see our national scene in such a clear dichotomy.
There is an old adage; “Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way” that applies to much of what is going on in Government. President Bush is attempting to lead the way on changing parts of Social Security. Precious few, our Senators Stabenow and Levin among them, seem to want to follow. In fact, those same senators don’t want to follow on the appointment of judges to courts, directors to cabinet level positions, or nearly any other step the president attempts to take. Watch them closely on the tariffs on steel imports, they may actually have to align themselves with the enforcement of tariffs that Bush’s government put on types of imports to “save the steel” companies. Of course, while Cleveland Cliffs Mining has profited from the tariffs to the point that they were able to turn from a big loss in 2003 to a big profit in 2004 didn’t directly come from the tariffs, but they didn’t hurt.
What is the relationship between our elected officials and the major movers in the economy? What are their roles in controlling or governing the import of drugs from Canada, of letting SBC buy out AT&T and allowing one chain of department stores to buy another. What has Pennsylvania Avenue to do with Wall Street and your Main Street? Those are issues we will look more closely at in these reports.
We’ll also look at what the AARP and SERA are doing that connects with the national level. And, or course, what you can do for yourself at all levels. This month there is one thing you ought to do for yourself. Check a copy of your credit report. It becomes free this month from the three major credit bureaus.
This is the second phase of the Federal Trade Commissions rollout of the free report service. Western states have enjoyed it for some months now. Here is what you need to do. Get access to the Internet, from home or at a friendly Public Library. Go to the web site: http://www.annualcreditreport.com and follow the directions. Of course, you will have a chance to purchase a lot of things, but watch carefully and respond that you want only free reports. You can get one free report from each of the agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) each year. Be aware that there will probably be errors and changes necessary in the data reported. Follow all directions to challenge or change it, and watch for information you have not created as another check on identity theft.
Be a pro-active consumer and a SERA member.
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