Paul Krugman sounds the battle cry:
"The important thing to remember is why the right wants privatization. The drive to create private accounts isn't about finding a way to strengthen Social Security; it's about finding a way to phase out a system that conservatives have always regarded as illegitimate. And as long as that is what's at stake, there is no room for any genuine compromise. When it comes to privatization, just say no."
He makes a powerful case that has given me pause. I'd been wondering if maybe, just maybe, a reasonable approach might be to raise the payroll tax ceiling, raise the retirement age and then create add-on private accounts. The first two would close any possible financing gap in Social Security. The last would get conservatives to shut the fuck up, already, and act as a hedge against the possibility that maybe, just maybe, they're right that private accounts will bring better returns.
But Krugman argues that any private account, no matter how it's funded, will be a Trojan horse the conservatives will use to destroy Social Security later. That may be so; he assumes the worst of our enemies, and he's probably right to do so. He also points out that, once such a compromise bill got into committee -- a committee that would probably be made up of only GOP lawmakers, as has been the SOP lately -- it might be twisted into unrecognizable and toxic forms. This is a risk that makes me much more nervous than the Trojan-horse argument.
Finally, he also has a love note for Joe Lieberman:
"Why should any Democrat act as a spoiler when his party is doing well by doing good, gaining political ground by opposing a really bad idea? (Hello, Senator Lieberman.)"
No shit. As Steve Gilliard said this week: Joe Lieberman must be stopped.
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