Further Attacks on the Middle Class
by Steve Mastro
Here's what W is offering, to scrap the insidious AMT or raise the limit dramitically BUT at the same time getting rid of deductions for state and local income taxes (to many two income families, this is disasterous). They will fill the hole in SS by cutting our eventual benefits and taxing us more now. His statement was that this would "pay off" in 50-60 years, as things would even out by then, where as only those now and to 50-60 years out would get screwed with higher tax and lower benefit...Egad!
This economic summit they are having is a complete joke. A self-serving back slapping session, where no real economic thoughts or policies that make sense will emerge.
Comments
Yes, it would be preferable to sell federal assets instead of borrowing. Otherwise, it sounds like you endorse my plan! :o)
There is no SS fix because there's nothing TO fix. It's a program with negligible assets and 40 trillion dollars in unfunded obligations. Harry Browne is the only person who gave a viable solution: Ask wealthy people to forego their benefits altogether, sell off all the fed-owned property in the nation (He estimated that 20% of all ground west of the Mississippi was fed-owned) and use the money to pay off the remaining beneficiaries. And then shut it down for good.
If they REALLY cared about what is going to happen to Social Security, they would truly band together to implement something like what I have proposed above, sell it to the American people, and pass it unanimously. Obviously both sides want to keep using Social Security as a club to demagogue each other with in public, as well as their own private piggy bank.
Those who speak the truth in the Bush Whitehouse pay the price: http://www.reason.com/sullum/121004.shtml
The reason this is a bad deal is that there is absolutely no way to sustain the current system without massive borrowing, and there is no way short of political suicide to "fix" Social Security. The only good "fix" is to cut it off immediately and allow workers to save and invest 20% of their wages tax-free (100% would be better). Put Social Security on-budget. Borrow what is needed to pay off current retirees, and phase out benefits for near-retirees. But this won't happen, because it means these vermin lose the control of the hundreds of billions of welfare dollars (yes, Social Security is a welfare program) they use now to get elected and re-elected.
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