« Amazing - I'm a Little Bit Republican
Main
The Number of the Beast - 616 »
May 1, 2005
Out of Their Cotton-picking Minds
Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger reflected on Social Security at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting.
Buffett and Munger also told shareholders they oppose U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to allow privatization of Social Security because the government has a duty to take care of the country's elderly."The Republicans are out of their cotton-picking minds on this issue,'' said Munger, a self-described right-wing Republican. Social Security is "one of the most successful things that the government has ever done."[Bloomberg]
While privatization seems to have been the focus of Buffett and Munger's remarks, the President and his followers are also out of the "cotton-picking minds" about reducing benefits for everyone except those making under $20,000.00 per year (the lack of means test). The President's attempt is to move Social Security from a pay as you go retirement program to a welfare program where it will be extremely vulnerable to the next round of bashing the poor. Nearly everyone agrees that rather modest increases in income, perhaps by only removing payment cap on those making $90,000.00 or more, will fix the intermediate term (next 75 years) problems faced by the Trust Fund. Because we cannot predict the size of the working or retirement populations more than 75 years out, there is no basis for judging any solution inperpetuum. However, if Bush thinks the government will default on the Trust Fund's special Treasury Bonds (you know, those IOUs) then everyone should run for cover.
It would sure be nice if the President would work on the really hard problems of medical costs and Medicare.
Via Talking Points
Posted by Duane Smith at May 1, 2005 10:15 AM | Read more on Current Events |
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.telecomtally.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1143