Social Security update

The Democrats seem to have taken the position that there is no crisis. If we had any worries about the way historians will treat today's MSM/DNC, the MSM/DNC's latest position on SS should resolve those fears. All we need to do is expose the MSM/DNC position on SS for what it is, and the MSM/DNC can't help but look foolish in a decade or two. The trouble is, what to do in the meantime to expose the crisis.

old sources and the memory hole

I can recall news reports or cartoons decades ago featuring the Roman style columns that symbolize the SS system. The columns were depicted as crumbling. Someone had to think there was a crisis in order to use that image in discussing the issue. I can't remember where I saw that depiction, but it was a mainstream source.

I also remember that Ronald Reagan gave a speech warning about the dangers to the SS system as far back as 1964. He gave this speech (and others) in support of Goldwater. I don't know where to find a copy, but it would be worth hearing now that the issue has been brought to the forefront.

I can remember numerous network broadcasts in the late 1970's and early 1980's that discussed the number of workers that were needed to support one SS recipient. Each of these newscasts made a point of telling us that the number of workers paying into the system was rapidly declining. It would provide tremendous historical context if the networks could pull out their videotapes of those broadcasts. The crisis would appear to be progressing on a continuing basis over several decades - which it most certainly is. But then again, they wouldn't be doing their part for the MSM/DNC if they did that. Consider the hollowness of their own claims to be "journalists" when they relegate their own past work to the memory hole - all for the sake of political gain for the MSM/DNC.

other voices

Check out this link, in which a poster notes my warnings about the potential government abuses of government control of mutual funds through privitization. The poster compares that scenario with the California public employee retirement system, where the same thing is apparently happening on a smaller scale. Be prepared for some strong and foul (but accurate) language.

Sherri has done her homework. Check it out.

As one commenter pointed out, Hillary's position on this issue should be interesting. She will, of course, take a safe route. But if President Bush gains traction in his calls for reform, Hillary will join the fray and advocate her own reform package. She will not get to be President by pretending that nothing is wrong. She may very well advocate some form of "privatization" - much like she pretends to oppose illegal immigration. She is pretending to move to the right. This issue may provide her with an opportunity. But be warned. Any "privatization" that takes place with Hillary's blessing will involve massive government investment in private stocks and mutual funds. She will achieve that government takeover of the economy of which she always dreamed.

The best source for the real context in which we should consider SS was provided by Garet Garrett in The People's Pottage. While I don't recall what Garrett said specifically about SS, I know that his discussion of the role of the New Deal in erasing our freedoms was very powerful. SS and the other big government programs have rendered us dependant and robbed us of our individuality. This crisis was inevitable. One cannot understand any massive government spending program without understanding Garrett's work.

You might want to check out my Garet Garrett blog. If I ever stop neglecting it, it will become a source of information for anyone who wants to know how the U.S. arrived at to this point in history. SS is only one piece of a very large puzzle.