The Urban Grind

Frankly, it seems that our Social Security system is almost beyond repair. But then again, the half of the country that voted for John Kerry seems to think it's fine the way it is, as long as those pesky rich people keep getting more of their money taxed... But to be fair, I don't know how much good privatized a portion of it will do, as the Bush Administration is suggesting.

Still, officials have refused to rule out the possibility that high income earners might be forced to make larger payroll tax contributions.

The lovely Star Parker predicted that something exactly like this might happen:

What it means is that Social Security reform, as currently discussed, is focused on bailing out politicians and not American citizens. When politicians tell us that they are dedicated to "saving Social Security," they are telling us that they know the system no longer works, but they don't have the courage to end it. They are telling us they don't want to do the hard work of figuring out how to meet obligations to those who have already paid in and allow working Americans the option to exit from a very bad deal.

Rather than looking for opportunities to raise money to meet obligations by cutting the substantial fat out of our federal budget, or by looking for creative means for borrowing funds to meet obligations, politicians will shift the burden to us. They will raise our taxes or our retirement age or cut our benefits so they can "save the system."