It's Time to "Fix" Health Spending And Social Security (William Chirolas)

[Tace]

It is time to end the wasting of our health system dollars on unneeded senior management of insurance companies and on the cost of giving stockholder returns on a risk that need not exist.

William Chirolas -- World News Trust

Feb. 26, 2007 -- I've discussed the Social Security trustee's reports on the Democratic Underground and World News Trust web sites, and indeed -- by mail and email -- to the late Senator Moynihan, ever since he began his writings on a Social Security payroll tax-related personal account. I doubt my attempt at communications had much, if any, influence on Moynihan and Clinton getting it right (after a task force got it wrong) in 1999's Universal Savings Account (USA) proposal.

Clinton did not embrace the carve-out personal account approach presented to him and which is now Bush's only Social Security proposal. Instead he went with an add-on to Social Security that would have used 12 percent of the projected surplus over the next 15 years -- $540 billion -- to give 98 million adults an automatic government contribution to their Universal Savings Account every year, and, in addition to the automatic contribution, give a government match, dollar for dollar, any voluntary contributions to the "USA" accounts by low and moderate income workers. Eligible workers with higher incomes would have had a match rate of at least 50 percent. Families would have had new funds that could be invested -- and thereby qualified for a match -- via an annual $600/$700 federal tax credit (refundable tax credit).

The refusal to pass the Clinton add on Universal Savings Accounts by the GOP-controlled Congress was justified by the GOP at the time by saying it would do nothing to save Social Security.

Clinton even had the vision to see the need for the accounts to invest in large pools of funds administered by an independent government agency. This was a major slap in the face to the GOP very right wing and their spokesperson, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, who had covered up the theft of the Social Security surplus theft to fund lower rates for the rich, and was trying to preserve that SS surplus funding for tax cuts by giving warnings about the risk of political interference if Social Security funds were not invested in the government bonds that were needed to be sold to cover the cost of the tax cuts for the rich.

When Bush tried to sell the Moynihan original carve out accounts -- only this time with the carve out sized to make the destruction of Social Security (as a usually above the poverty line minimum retirement benefit) certain -- rather than using mail/email, I posted the data that showed nothing need be done -- ever -- based on the Social Security Trustees report.

But that does not mean a better and fairer Social Security System is not possible -- even one that has a TAX CUT -- as in lower tax rates. First, it seems obvious that as we live and work longer, Social Security should be revamped to automatically recognize the improved mortality.

more

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1304&Itemid=10204

[Lasher]

1. Pretty good plan, I'll salute most of that.

But I don't see why you have to move the SS retirement age out to 70 when the projected shortfall can be almost totally eliminated by just removing the cap on taxable income. Here, try it yourself with the Social Security Game:

http://www.actuary.org/socsec.asp

Another thought I want to share is that it might be too early to do anything at all, since the relatively minor shortfall is based on a worst case scenario. This outlook has changed over time and will change again in the future. The only real crisis is that of rich Republicans in a panic, due to their fear that they might actually have to pay back to the trust fund some of their tax break money they have been getting ever since Saint Gipper's administration ensured payroll taxes would be funneled into the general fund.

You correctly pointed out that The Decider's main motive in pimping his private account proposal is to gut Social Security. Another such scheme is the pending Totalization Agreement with Mexico.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=239337#244164

Very good ideas on universal health care. Thanks for posting.

Edit: It's sometimes depressing to see great contributions like this one sink like a stone. Don't take it personal, it happens all the time.

Lasher