Saturday, July 24, 2010

Delusional

Harry Reid: Social Security Not Going Broke

Harry Reid is one of three things: either incredibly stupid, certifiably insane or a pathological liar. I opt for the third. Although, in a strict grammatical sense I suppose he is technically correct. Social Security is not going broke, it is already and has been for quite some time. Both parties have been guilty, but especially it has been the Democrats who have "borrowed" money time and time again from the social Security trust fund in order to implement other government programs and entitlements.

One of the few good ideas that G.W. had was to give people the option to partially privatize their Social Security by allowing them to invest a certain percent of their own savings in the system in private investments. This would have proven advantageous for most people, as the interest that is earned in the government system is in the range of 1.00%. Almost any private investment would have earned more. Just think of the gains people would have realized if, for example, the government had allowed them invest one third of their Social Security money in gold and silver funds.

But Bush's idea was quickly shot down because the government cannot ever bring itself to give up power or money, both of which would have been lost if Social Security were ever partially or fully privatized. The Senate majority leader also said that that program "has been the most successful social program in the history of the world." I challenge Harry Greed to try living for a year on just the income from an average, blue-collar retired worker's Social Security checks. According to the AARP, the average check for a retiree in 2009 was $1153. Certainly Reid could not live anywhere near Washington D.C. with that amount as his only income. He might be able to rent a seedy apartment in Reno and eat Top Ramen, but that's about it.

Social Security is broke, and it's worse than that. It has added to the unfunded obligations of the United States government. The 2008 Financial Report compiled by the General Accounting Office found that we as a country owe $65.5 trillion. That was before the "bailouts" (handouts) that Bush and then Soetoro gave to the banks and auto industry. The number today is probably close to $75 trillion.

Whichever of the options I laid out is truly what is wrong with Harry Reid, he must be voted out in November. I can't imagine why the good people of Nevada have kept him for so long. Or have they? In 1998 Reid only managed to beat John Ensign by 428 votes. The way the Demoncats work, they could have manufactured 100 times that many fake votes. There should have been a Bush vs. Gore style recount war, but as usual, the Republicans were spineless. Time to send Harry packing back home from Washington, Nevadans.

1 comment: