Social Security is older than John McCain--but only just.

John McCampaign recently said that Social Security was a disgrace because people working today are paying into the fund for today's retirees.

Okay.

It's time we gave John "the talk". Since he's, like, collecting it himself.

John,

That's how the plan was set up. See, back in the Depression, you know, the not- psychological one in the 1930's, old people had no money and ended up on the street or in poor houses and couldn't live out their last years in comfort and dignity, but were selling apples and stuff like that. I gather this much from watching old movies. (They can use "cameras" to project light onto screens, John, and make stories with pictures--sound even! It's the ragin' hot new thing the kids are doing these days. Even on the Internets, if you are aware of those traditions.)

When FDR saw this as a serious problem and tried to address it, the solution had to be immediate. Political solutions really should be at least somewhat foreseeable. In the way, you know, drilling off the coast of the US is a not-immediately foreseeable benefit to anyone but the oil co's, who already aren't exercising all their leases....just saying....

Anyway, and sorry about the non-sequitur, the only way for Depression-day old people to get Social Security benefits was if then-contemporaneous workers were funding them. Thus was born a system that has worked for more years, believe it or not, than you have been alive. John--this is really a successful program, and many seniors lives have literally been saved by it.

This is why privatizing the program, whether you like the term privatizing or not, is dumb. Create a lock-box so that the fund can't be pillaged for other budgetary purposes, given the population concern in re: Baby Boom big--current worker pool so small. But trying to prise out funds for investment in an uncertain market--

Wha--?

I certainly hope you thought the disgrace was the gap between the amount of people about to be on SS and the pool paying into SS right now--that would be reasonable. There is a fiscal discrepancy there--but guess what?

It can be funded by raising the wage cap on what income is subject to the tax. And also, another thing that would raise revenue, is raising the minimum wage. Yes. If people make more money, they have more money to be subjected to the damn SS taxes. So more would be paid in--and the current day workers would still be paid more money--and do you know what they'd do?

Invest, save, spend, live, and be cool about making more money. We call that thing "Prosperity." If you want to be president, you could try to figure how to achieve prosperity into your economic plan. Since you haven't. Nor really figured out how you'll balance the budget. And your tax plan really does favor the wealthy, which is not the majority in our country, or any country, for that matter...


Just saying.