Call Me Old Fashioned

No I mean it. I want all my fans out there in radioland to look at their monitors and say "You're old-fashioned." Are you in a public place? Than say it extra loud.

At any rate that's the crux of Jeff Jacoby's latest article. We Democrats are old-fashioned. According to Mr. Jacoby, " Within 15 years, the system will be paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes. Its shortfalls will grow larger and larger. Bankruptcy will loom. To save Social Security, Congress will have no choice but to sharply raise payroll taxes, go even more deeply into debt, or slash the benefits paid to retirees."

Thank goodness President Bush and other Republicans have come up with an answer; personal investment accounts! Yes, by investing two trillion dollars into setting up personal accounts and assuming the economy grows at 1.7% (the assumption under which Social Security goes broke soon), we surely won't need to raise payroll taxes, go more deeply in debt, or slash benefits.

See this is the new-fashioned Republican thinking. Apparently by throwing money at the problem it will fix the problem even if the problem is that there isn't enough money. Yeah, I know we Democrats are supposed to be party of throwing money at problems. But the problem is our aim. The Republicans are aiming their money at the financial industry, and apparently that makes all the difference.

Still, call me old fashioned, but I like Social Security the way that it is. It provides a fixed benefit to our nations elderly, which, along with their own savings, helps the elderly remain comfortable.