Monday, February 07, 2005

On Social Security

An issue like Social Security tinkering is complicated only in the sense that you can't get a real plan or a straight answer from the Bush administration. Nobody is discussing a "plan" they are discussing a "goal", or as I call it "an end".

The President's policy (such as it can be pieced together) will look something like a Las Vegas roulette wheel, except that the gambler is Congress and the money is your grandmother's rent check. Worse, Congress will take out a loan in your grandmother's name (details...) and continue to do so as they spin, and spin, and spin. I find that Congress does bad enough when entrusted with your hard-earned money without sending them to the slots with loan guarantees at grandma's expense.

The Social Security "crisis" is a "sky-is-falling" crisis of leadership that simple math (addition and subtraction) can cure. For instance, Social Security can be made solvent for the foreseeable future by repealing a third of the tax cuts enacted by President Bush.

Perhaps Democrats ought to publicly state they'll sign 2/3 of the tax cuts into permanence if 1/3 will go to the Social Security trust fund until Republicans feel it is solvent enough to make the remaining 1/3 permanent? If they did, half the beer bottles in America would have their caps twisted off by the force of the about face on the nature of the crisis.

No comments:

Foot Quotes

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

Charles Darwin