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February 08, 2005
Reform at the Gas Station
Something struck me tonight (11 o'clock-ish) at the Quick Trip about Bush's social security reform. Looking around, at the people working and shopping there, I can't imagine that anywhere near half of them will choose to monitor their investments in private accounts. And this is what is so unfair about Bush's plan -- if you decide that you're sticking with the current way of doing things it would lead to drastic benefit reductions.
That is, the average woman who gets off work at 10 PM, possibly from a second job, will never have the time to invest and worry about a private social security account. And because Bush and his party are hostile to any government intervention in people's financial lives (because it costs rich guys like Bush a few percentage points on his tax return) this hard working woman will retire with only 70% or less of the benefits that her counterpart from 20 years ago retires with.
And she'd get the drastic benefit reductions not because the current system is in trouble, but because it is a cruel way of bullying people out of a government program that works, possibly the most successful government program of all time, simply because George Bush and his cronies do not prefer to use the power of government to keep lower-income people from being worse off.
If you read this blog, then chances are you'd probably be able to figure out on your own how to make private accounts work to your advantage -- certainly if the proposed benefit cuts of between 30 and 50% were to accompany them. But, since Bush likes to quote Democratic presidents out of context to do his dirty work, I'd remind you of JFK's admonition to ask what you can do for your country.
The next time you're at the gas station, grocery store, McDonald's, wherever, ask yourself if you really think social security privitization will improve the lives of the average person shopping and working in these establishments. If not, then why alter the status quo to achieve the same results. And if you think (as I do) that it would make things worse, then why would you want to mess with a good thing even if doing so might potentially make your own existence marginally better off.
Posted by Chris at February 8, 2005 11:31 PM
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