Stealth Social Security Reform

When the Democrats applauded Bush's statement that his social security reform initiative hadn't gone so well, perhaps they were a bit premature.

He buried social security reform in his budget proposal.

Here's what it will cost: $24 billion in fiscal year 2010, $57 billion in fiscal year 2011 and $630 billion for the five years after that, for a total of $712 billion (error due to rounding). This is to fund private accounts, the only thing he can think of when it comes to social security and a fairly certain way to gut the program Republicans find most offensive precisely because it benefits its constituents, the rich who don't pay social security anyway, the least.

We can only hope that Congress gets the message and gets serious about defeating the program. It was too much to think that Bush and the Republicans would actually start to think about finding a bipartisan solution to social security's coming crisis so all we can do is to mobilize to defeat the proposal. There are alternatives:

1. Eliminate the cap on wages. Yes, Victoria, social security is a social program. Those of us doing well pay for those of us who aren't doing so well. We already have private accounts called IRAs and 401ks and so forth. We don't need more of them. What we need is for the CEO making twenty million dollars a year to bankrupt his company to pay social security on the entire amount. Perhaps he'll have to give up a few rooms in his Aspen home but I think it serves the greater good.

2. Eliminate the benefit for those whose average lifetime earnings have exceeded a certain amount. Starting at about $75,000 in today's dollars, phase out social security. Anyone making $100,000 per year and who hasn't saved for retirement deserves to live on cat food. Anyone making $35,000 probably can't save for retirement at a rate that will keep them from living on cat food. I prefer helping the latter. Increase the amounts for inflation, sure, but phase it out. There's no reason Warren Buffett and Bill Gates should receive a social security check.

3. Invest some money in classes in financial management for every high school kid. That, and Civics, are the two classes our opponents fear and our children need to make good decisions about finance and about their leadership. They should know there's an alternative to Hoodin Rob Republicans (robbing the poor to finance the rich), that there's a Constitution and a Bill of Rights and what that means. They should also learn something our President hasn't: It isn't a meaningless piece of paper if for no other reason, it's parchment.