I was listening to Air America Radio yesterday [they're on repeat for the week] and on the Al Franken Show, they re-aired a segment with NY Times columnist and Princeton University economics professor Paul Krugman. Krugman was on to discuss the privatizing of Social Security and why it is bad, bad, bad for everyone [except those fuckers in cahoots with W & Co. that is].
Basically, it boils down to this... First off, there's enough money in the Social Security fund to last until about 2050 or so. Or if you're estimating a 1.3% growth rate for the U.S. economy, 2030 or so. But if you estimate that kind of growth rate, we have some serious fucking problems at hand for the economy. So, let's stick with that 2050 date for this exercise. Social Security is currently very safe. It is not an absolutely pressing matter. Even when the fund can no longer meet a 100% payout in 2050, those receiving the benefits will still receive a check, most likely 80% of what they normally receive. It won't be 0% as those right-wingers would have you believe.
Then let's get onto the whole privatization part. This is very, very bad. Why? Well, with this "privatization" people are going to think that they're going to be big "players" in the stock market - wake up folks. You'll only be able to invest about 2% of your income. So, if you're making $45,000 that's a whopping $900. Do you think that a broker is going to want to touch that $900 with a 900' pole? They have bigger fish to fry. A $900 trade is a shitstain to them. They don't need it and they don't want to bother with it. Plus, you'd be a total headcase, calling your broker every time the stock went up or down a point [á la Boiler Room]. The government knows this, so what to do about it?
Well, our friends in the W administration will probably pick out some nice safe mutual funds for Jane and Jo Taxpayer to invest their hard earned money. Which mutual funds do you think this administration will pick out? Some neutral companies? Some liberal companies? Fuck no. They're going to be companies W & Co. like and deal with on a daily basis. Companies who dole out millions in campaign dollars and inagural balls. A little pat on the back for getting him into office again. And mutual funds aren't going to get you much money anyways. So, unless the stock market starts going nutso or you're putting in a cool Mill into them, you won't see shit either.
If the economy grows at a rate which would make those investments lucrative, Social Security - as it stands now - will have more money coming in than it will be paying out; there is absolutely no need for Social Security to be privatized.
And also, just what if all of the people who have the option to privatize went ahead and did so? Well, there'd be a gigantic hole in the Social Security fund. Billions. Billions. Billions. Where would the government get the money to pay out the full 100% benefits? By borrowing from other countries. A Trillion here, a Trillion there, no biggie right? Fuck no. There is just no point in having to borrow this money when it's already there, in place, right now. If the current system is messed with, my generation and the generations following will have a national debt that will not be paid off in our lifetimes - not even close. It's too big a hole to dig out of.
See? Bad, bad, bad. This is just another method W & Co. want to take the average person's money.
Oh and by the way, W & Co. are still trying to make those tax cuts which benefit only the top 5% of the people in the U.S. permanent. Fucking us yet again.
All that info was garnered from Krugman on Air America Radio. Go out there and do some more reasearch and find out more for yourselves. If this thing passes, we're fucked.
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