A Suboptimal Glide Ratio

Preamble: Definition of "glide ratio":

"This ratio tells you how much horizontal distance a glider can travel compared to the altitude it has to drop. Modern gliders can have glide ratios better than 60:1. This means they can glide for 60 miles if they start at an altitude of one mile. For comparison, a commercial jetliner might have glide ratios somewhere around 17:1." Emphasis supplied. How Gliders Work

A brick, on the other hand, has a glide ratio of around 0:1. As in to drop like a brick. Ruy Teixeira (03.01.05):

"A new poll by Ipsos-Public Afairs for the Associated Press indicates that a solid majority of Americans oppose President Bush's proposals for privatizing Social Security. The poll, conducted 2/22-24, found that 56 percent of respondents 'disapprove of President Bush's handling of Social Security and oppose investing a portion of Social Security taxes in stocks and bonds,' with 39 percent saying they approve. In addition, 66 percent of the respondents said they oppose increasing the retirement age, 93 percent opposed cutting benefits for current retirees and 87 percent opposed reducing benefits for future retirees. The poll indicated that there was substantial support for one potential reform --- 74 percent favored requiring those earning more than $90,000 per year to pay Social Security taxes on all their earnings." New AP-Ipsos Poll: Most Disapprove of Bush SS Plan

USAToday (02.28.05):

"Only one in three Americans approve of President Bush's handling of Social Security, his lowest rating on the issue since he took office. A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll conducted Friday-Sunday found that 35% approved of Bush's Social Security record, 56% disapproved and 9% had no opinion. That was down from three weeks ago, when 43% approved. In March 2001, just after he took office, 49% approved." Emphasis supplied. Poll: Social Security plan support drops

According to the USAToday poll, 59% of respondents say Social Security doesn't need to be changed right away, compared to about 50% a couple months back. "White House spokesman Trent Duffy said Bush is just beginning to educate the public. 'The first stage of the debate is whether there is a problem and whether we fix that problem. More and more people are coming around to his point of view," Duffy said." Uhhh, no Trent, they're not. And for the wads over at USANext, the respondents to the USAToday poll gave AARP a very or mostly favorable rating of 75%. Mr. Bush's favorability came in at 56%.