73 years ago today, FDR signed the law that created the Social Security program. This pay-as-you-go (as designed, where younger workers pay for the older ones) program has been not only one of the most popular, but also one of the most effective programs in the history of the US. John McCain thinks that it is a disgrace:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugN8Rn5baqM[/youtube]
McCain, of course, will want to continue the Social Security privatization mumbo jumbo throughout the rest of this campaign. This mumbo jumbo simply extends the failed arguments from BushCo, claiming that the system is bankrupt ( it isn’t — it is solvent at least through 2050 or so and only privatization would save everyone’s retirement. Ignoring who stands to immediately benefit from these private accounts, who else gets off of the hook? The President and Congress (and it doesn’t matter which party) who no longer have to figure out how to payback the IOUs that represent the current surplus in the Social Security system. Think about that for a second — the system is now in surplus, but everywhere you go, repubs are screaming about how broken Social Security is, doing their usual ramping up of anxiety play. In the meantime, Medicare is in imminent danger and there seems to be little urgency to fix that. Both of these programs loom very large in the fiscal future of the country, but so does out of control DoD spending. The difference is that Social Security currently pays for itself while the DoD does not.
Michael Tomasky reminds us of Dwight Eisenhower’s assessment of the politics of getting rid of Social Security:
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.
But as Tomasky notes, their number is no longer negligible and they consider all of us to be stupid. But as Roosevelt’s grandson reminds us today:
“Our Social Security isn’t a disgrace; it’s a compact, a trust between generations of Americans. It’s a reflection of our values. On the 70th anniversary of Social Security, Americans stood together and said no to George Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security. On this anniversary, let’s make sure John McCain hears the same message. Tell John McCain to keep his hands off of our Social Security.”