King George II and his Court are again revving up the fear of WMD by filling the media with nonsense and fear mongering in reverse: those over 55 have nothing to worry about because ironically the social security system is as solid as a rock; however, those under the age had better prepare for shock and awe unless they turn to Wall Street gurus for salvation. The Court accuses the Democrats of scare tactics directed at seniors while the Democrats charge the nobles with the same toward the younger.
Politics in this nation is becoming a farce par excellence at the expense of the people thirsty for the clean air of honest dialog. Democrats are right that at this stage there is no dire need to dig up this distant catastrophe, but they are wrong in stating there isn’t a car bomb down the rocky road. Republicans — thanks to George’s court of melodrama over privatization — fail to see that there are far more important matters on the agenda currently that require immediate attention. There are far greater economic problems now such as the growing national debt, the extraordinary cost of the prescription drug bill passed last year, the spiraling cost of medical insurance and the millions uninsured, the AMT crisis encroaching, tax cuts made permanent — and, oh, yeah, there’s a costly war going on. The simple truth is that social security can be easily fixed by raising the payroll maximum to $350K and permitting those who make more than $150K to opt for privatizing a quarter of the sum between $150K and $350K. In addition, as I have stated before, those in white collar and less strenuous blue collar work — assuming they are healthy — should expect to retire not before age 70 with payroll tax reduced in half between ages 65 and 70. The well-to-do with private pensions who wish to retire early may do so but must wait till 70 to be eligible for social security.
To tell those 55 and over that they do not have to worry, is as though all seniors couldn’t care less about the ensuing generations. They do, you know, worry about their children and grandchildren’s economic welfare and are thus just as anxious as the young generations that social security indeed be secure. Nor should unwarranted alarms such as “bankruptcy” bombard the youth into panic; it is a deliberate campaign of misinformation to cover up the disastrous effects of current handling of the federal budget which indeed is heading toward bankruptcy far sooner than social security — the only federal agency with a surplus.
Copyright © 2005 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: February 4, 2005.
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