Jon Stewart, on his “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, discussed pension smoothing and how it helps the federal government raise tax revenue.
Bottom line: Mr. Stewart concluded this is the first time he's heard smoothing used as a euphemism for sex.
The pension monologue was part of his July 16 segment — “Shabby Road” — on the federal highway bill. Much of the bit starts with jokes about the parade of horribles that might befall the country without passage of the bill including a series of one-liners where Mr. Stewart seemingly forgets the word “road” and gets censored every time he suggests raising the federal gas tax.
Additionally, it features a faux album cover akin to Abbey Road, but with Washington leaders replacing members of the Beatles.
After a winding path, Mr. Stewart eventually comes to pension smoothing halfway through the segment. In addition to the crude joke about pension smoothing, he humorously illustrates how it helps the government raise revenue in the short term at the expense of longer-term financial security.
The full “Shabby Road” segment starts at the 2:25 mark, but the jokes specific to pension smoothing don't start until the 5:58 mark. Watch it below: