tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post110350861288849779..comments2023-10-29T10:54:58.681-04:00Comments on Vox Baby: Democrats, Unity, and Social SecurityAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514024573333057559noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103646901598305592004-12-21T11:35:00.000-05:002004-12-21T11:35:00.000-05:00"I cannot follow for the life of me the 'law of ar..."I cannot follow for the life of me the 'law of arithmetic' thingy, so I will ignore that for now."<br /><br />Iow, "assume a can opener".<br /><br />"But 2018 is really the year at issue. It is my belief, and I assume yours from your statements, that the current administration has no intention of fulfilling this obligation."<br /><br />The current administration won't be around in 2018.<br /><brPatrick Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14948365865741313524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103590878565699632004-12-20T20:01:00.000-05:002004-12-20T20:01:00.000-05:00Jim: you have me confused. I actually think we are...Jim: you have me confused. I actually think we are in agreement on a few things, although I suspect from different directions. And I cannot follow for the life of me the 'law of arithmetic' thingy, so I will ignore that for now.<br /><br />As long as we are assuming our General Fund will honor its obligation to the Trust Fund, the year at issue is 2042. This is the year the Fund is depleted afterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103585843424149342004-12-20T18:37:00.000-05:002004-12-20T18:37:00.000-05:00"There are plenty of ways the Democrats could cons..."There are plenty of ways the Democrats could constructively engage. For example, they could insist ... solvency be restored not through reducing benefits across the board but by raising the ages of full and early retirement (a much better policy). "<br /><br />I'm afraid that when the political rubber meets the road Democrats will have a hard time agreeing to this or any general benefit cutback,JGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11164150812219689611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103584612653489772004-12-20T18:16:00.000-05:002004-12-20T18:16:00.000-05:00"Message number one is that Social Security is hea..."Message number one is that Social Security is healthy and successful."<br /><br />OK, now here's the issue upon which the denialists are in complete denial, because they have no answer to it and *can have no answer* as a matter of the Iron Laws of Arithmetic.<br /><br />FDR made an explicit promise when the SS system was created in 1935 that it would always pay a "fair return" comparable to thatJGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11164150812219689611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103583051008820042004-12-20T17:50:00.000-05:002004-12-20T17:50:00.000-05:00"Thirty eight years and (probably) growing just do..."Thirty eight years and (probably) growing just doesn't meet my definition of a crisis."<br /><br />Thirty-eight years only in your dreams, and in political exercises of denial.<br /><br />(1) While SS "has the money" to pay the benefits for 38 years, it has it only in the form of a totally nonbinding promise that the money will come from the Treasury somehow. And, alas, the Treasury does not JGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11164150812219689611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103577447601071992004-12-20T16:17:00.000-05:002004-12-20T16:17:00.000-05:00Us anonymous guys seem to be only ones posting in ...Us anonymous guys seem to be only ones posting in these comments. I guess I need to get an ID. No disrespect intended, Professor Samwick.<br /><br />I realize the juxtaposition and first sentence are AP's Jennifer Loven's, but this:<br /><br />'Without any changes, Social Security would begin paying more in benefits than it takes in by 2018.<br /><br />"The first step in this process is for Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103570950036007952004-12-20T14:29:00.000-05:002004-12-20T14:29:00.000-05:00"Grown-up Republicans" had a choice to not repeat ..."Grown-up Republicans" had a choice to not repeat the Medicare bill debacle, but chose to return Bush to the White House. It is impossible to imagine that Bush can implement a policy that is not messed up. DeLong has a challenge to find one example; I'm sure you have seen it Mr. Samwick, but you have not responded. In such an environment, bipartisanship is collaboration. When has Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103568220998648042004-12-20T13:43:00.000-05:002004-12-20T13:43:00.000-05:00Ooops. Cats out of the bag. Now it's not so much a...Ooops. Cats out of the bag. Now it's not so much a secret.<br /><br />"The Medicare problem is about seven times greater than the Social Security problem, and it has gotten much worse," said Comptroller General David M. Walker, head of the GAO. "It is much bigger, it is much more immediate, and it is going to be much more difficult to effectively address."<br /><br />I would have been more Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8537995.post-1103524198313912122004-12-20T01:29:00.000-05:002004-12-20T01:29:00.000-05:00Professor Samwick: I have read all you posts on th...Professor Samwick: I have read all you posts on the Social Security situation, as well as Max Sawicky's, Brad Delong's and a host of others.<br /><br />I find the characterization of Social Security as being in 'crisis' just an impossible stretch of the word. By that standard Medicare is in double-secret crisis, to sort of borrow a phrase from Animal House.<br /><br />Thirty eight years and (Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com