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« Securing the Building | Main | Suppression and Information » November 23, 2004For The RecordJust in case it will make a difference, a brief explanation of my position on social security. I'm doubtful that privatization is an answer, both because I'm uncertain that pouring some fraction of payroll taxes into the private sector can generate anything close to the returns necessary to bring the system into solvency and because privatization still requires us to either develop some new safety net or put such restrictions on the private accounts to render them functionally public. I think it's important to remember that we're going to have to come up with money to cover the trust fund beginning in 2017. I do not advocate defaulting on the trust fund bonds. I consider the trust fund something of a fiction because we haven't addressed how we're going to pay for it. That doesn't make it worthless, since I don't think we should nor do I think it is politically possible to default on the bonds, but it does mean that we're not addressing an issue that will be unavoidable in short order. I think social security should be used as a safety net for the elderly rather than as a retirement plan for everyone. That means imposing means testing to reduce expenditures and encouraging people to save for retirement on their own. I think we're stuck with the designated hitter. I think that we need to decide what we want social security to be before we can determine how to fix it. I think that, once we have some kind of consensus as to what social security should be, we ought to puzzle out the best solution rather than just trying to sell our own favored solution or shoot down the ideas of our political opponents. I think there's no way in Hell that will happen. I think it's time for me to get ready for bed. Posted at November 23, 2004 08:51 PM
Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsCalPundit has at times in the past overviewed the evidence on what it would take to fund SSI indefinitely. The answer is about 1/2 of 1% of GDP, starting around 2017, and that without any means testing or benefit cuts like raising the retirement age. If you watch closely, when you think you're reading that SSI is heading for disaster, you'll find that it's actuall "SSI AND Medicare". Medicare's financial prospects are in fact dire, as there are more old people, and they're living longer (a good thing, of course, but expensive.) So, while an issue worth dealing with, it's not close to a crisis. AB Posted by: angry bear at November 23, 2004 10:33 PM Post a comment |
