The Government Approach to the Social Security Debate

Malfeasance appears innate to Governmental conduct, never totally eradicated, but expanionary under loss of Voter constraint of political activities. The Bush administration use of Social Security Trust Fund monies to pay for a political campaign for Private Accounts expresses no greater failure in Ethics, than does the Defense Dept. utilizing Troop Budget funds to lobby Congress for new Weapons systems. These Crocidiles are foreign to Americans partial to Alligators, though native to Politicians who roll in the filth of corruption.

It behooves Commentators, even Us lowly Bloggers, to shine a flashlight on these crocks of dung, so that Readers may get a breath of reality above the fumes of rotten eggs. Here is the input of this Author:

1) The Social Security Trust Fund will be in trouble, but is not now, and will not be for at least two decades.
2) Nothing will be a long-term fix for the Trust Fund, except for an increase in FICA taxation.
3) That increase in taxation will not have to exceed about 10% of the monies collected by FICA taxation currently--though the sums will increase gradually as the Baby Boomers retire.
4) Private Accounts will provide no financial or economic solution to the Social Security problem.
5) Private Accounts will increase the balloon in Investment instruments, which has been created by the proliferation of IRAs, Koughs, 401ks, and tax credits for investment. Principal to Earnings ratios are already too large, with Profits already shrinking.
6) The Social Security program is not the real problem; the real crisis resides in the Medicare and Medicaid programs with American Patients paying exorbidant fees for health care.
7) The American People, if not the Bush administration, would be better served changing the current Tax Code, which allows American Business unnatural advantage in moving Production offshore. Return of Production to American soil will vastly increase FICA tax revenues.
8) Revamping the Tax Code will provide the best matrix for Labor to save for their own retirement.
9) Return of Interest rates to proper levels (base rate 4.25%) would provide the best projected Return on retirement investments.
10) The greatest stability to the Social Security Trust Fund would be it's purchase of real economic capital instead of IOUs from the General Revenue Budget. This is not advocacy of any Investment Commission to dabble in the Stock Market, but purchase of Banks, Insurance companies, S&Ls, and Federal buildings charging rent to other agencies.

The Bush administration serves Business Lobbyies, not the American people, when it pursues an agenda which provides Profit only to Fund managers. This is too much, even in this new Age of Corruption. lgl