Executive branch legacies

These are the kind of stats that should be absolutely permeating all forms of communication between now and Congress' vote on Social Security reform:

In no 15-year period in the last eight decades has the growth of stocks ever been negative; in no 20-year period has the average growth been less than 3 percent, which is better than the rate of return on Social Security assets.

The main point of this article though, brought back to my mind something I'd been thinking about over the last week or so. I may not agree with everything Arnold Schwarzenegger and George W. Bush have done, will do, or trying to do, and I'll defend to the death my right to disagree with the sometimes unprinciples programs they propose and promote, but I really have to give them both credit for aggressively seeking genuine positive reform in issues that likely wouldn't be a problem until after their respective administrations have already ended. California's public employee pension problem and the accompanying deficit crisis (not to mention poor teacher/school performance) will likely only come to a serious head after he's long gone from office, but in his recent State of the State speech the Governator has forcefully come out and said, I don't care how hard the fight is, our state is messed up and we need to fix it. GWB has thrown down the same gauntlet (although with perhaps less force, without the ability to "take it to the voters" if the legislature doesn't perform) about Social Security and tax reform.

I give them my kudos for speaking out so aggressively about these issues when they don't necessarily need to, and they'll certainly have my support along the way, but I still wait with arms mentally crossed over my chest to see if they actually come through and make something happen.