Posted on 11/11/2004 10:40:46 AM PST by sadness in phintown
If the President proposes, as has been suggested, a system in which Americans get to personally own and invest a portion of their Social Security taxes, the results will be nothing short of a revolution in America that will perhaps dwarf the changes brought about by FDR.
The Democratic party is built upon, and has dominated the country for over 50 years based on this one program. Nothing that was done on the political front in the last century even comes close to the impact of the Social Security program on the political landscape. This single program locked in the voting habits of a generation by promising them "savings" which would be paid out upon retirement. This single program spawned an entitlement mentality that has manifested itself in dozens of other programs and has resulted in a slippage in the percentage of Americans who exhibit the unique traits of Americanism that have made America the most economically and militarily powerful country in the world.
But it was all a sham - an intricate and very public Ponzi scheme built on a lie and maintained by self delusion. Still, it is the most powerful vote getting scheme ever to be devised and the Democrats continue to rely on it to this day. Just look at the AARP website and you'll see the power of this program. It is sad to see the World War II generation reduced to claiming on one hand that Social Security has plenty of money for decades, and at the same time, arguing that present workers not be allowed to invest their own money since it is needed to pay present benefits. You'd think it would cause a headache to have two totally contradictory beliefs fighting themselves in your brain at one time, but apparently not.
(Excerpt) Read more at lfospot.com ...
Sadly the republicans are already backing off social security reform which is too bad since it should be by far THE most important thing on their domestic agenda and the one with the most long lasting positive impact on this country.
Dems don't want to lose the ability to spend other people's money, that is all.
If the Republicans can even get modest changes, that would be a huge victory. Every time some liberal spoke of health care reform, the stock market would drop, as would their accounts. Everything would be centered on these accounts' returns.
Changing this program will NOT damage the democrats, they still have the legalized murder of the unborn.
An "Ownership Society" severely depresses if it does
not outright destroy the class warfare mantra; it also
takes out of the hands of the govt and puts into the
hands of the people. The calls of "we will take care
of you" begin to resonate among a smaller and smaller
section of the population.
MV
It's WAAAAYYY beyond that! If SSR Passes, then the people would expect the Congress and President to actually do things to grow the economy and hence their earnings on SS accounts like 401K and IRA and keogh people do. Tha thought of being actually held responsible for their legislative actions by th ballot is absolutely terrifying to them (both sides of the aisle)......
TRUE!
I havn't heard anything about rescinding this promise either.
S.S., Tax reform, and school vouchers would nearly decimate the Democrat Party if enacted. This is why they will fight to the death to attempt to stop these policies.
The source of the Dems power a) Entitlements b) Public education c) Judicial appointments. The MSM is their PR tool to keep all in place.
If everbody who has paid into the SS were alowed to get that money back, they would find that the money was replaced with IOU'S.
There is no money in SS, our elected officals have used it for everything else.
If the money that is sent to SS were to be invested in an account of our own choice, the return would end up being more than could be used before your death even if you lived an above average life style.
On the other hand, my ss report says that I have already paid close to $100,000 into social security in my lifetime. If I had invested that over the years, I would have had a tidy retirement fund. As I worked for a non-profit for many years, my other retirement is limited. Was hoping to have ss to help me survive when I retire at age 70. When I paid into it, that was the understanding. Seems the feds. spent it all and did not invest it for me.
Good article.
If we throw this out and change the tax system, the Dems will have nothing to run on! What can they 'promise' people anymore?
The only way to meaningful reform is if the privatization is made from reductions in government. It is voodoo economics to finance privatization by deficit increases. These would have to be paid down the road in more inflation and dollar devaluation.
The danger of an entire nation putting investment money all at once into the stock market?
Anyone know?
Seems it might artificially drive prices up during those initial years.
Seems it might artificially prop up companies that otherwise would go broke.
I pay almost as much in SSN and Medicare taxes as I do in federal income tax. Then I've got my state taxes that are almost as high as my federal taxes. It has to stop somewhere. I'm all for a certain amount of privitization.
My father-in-law receives a nice check from the SSN administration every month. The man paid not one red cent into the fund but has no problem accepting money from the younger generations. "We owe it to him" His exact words. He also voted for Kerry. Need I say more?
Why do Republicans support the concept of "social security" in the first place?
It's socialism, plain and simple.
Up to now, Social Security has been nothing but an additional source of revenue for the general funds in the US Treasury. This is what is making the Democrats so crazy - the total revenue by the Federal government will be reduced.
Which is the whole point. The money out in private accounts is not available to the Federal government except by borrowing it on the open market, in competition with other entities that also offer to borrow money. And as such, the interest rate that would be paid would have to be competitive, and not just what the Government Accounting Office thought was a reasonable rate of return (if any return on the individual's investment is taken into consideration).
If the Federal government had been taking even a portion of the funds paid in on behalf of the Social Security program, and investing in the Fanny May and Ginny May real estate mortgage purchase funds, every one of the mortgage insurance programs would have been fully solvent by now. And mortgage foreclosures could be seen as stiffing Grandma, so there is an additional guilt factor at work.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.