Social Security & Medicare Notes

Incoming Senate Chairman Baucus: Social Security privitazation is off the table

There hasn't been much new news recently on Social Security or Health care. I'd speculate that with the election coming up the Republicans felt that their efforts on both subjects were likely to be net negatives for them at the ballot box, and the media does not report much on issues raised by the minority party. With the election, however, things seem to have changed. With the change to Democrat control in the House and Senate the grownups have returned, and what then have to say becomes newsworthy.

WASHINGTON -- The incoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Thursday he wants to hold hearings on looming insolvencies in the Medicare and Social Security programs but said President Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security is dead.

"Don't waste our time," said Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. "It's off the table."

He said the rising cost of Medicare and other health costs is a priority for the committee, though he did not detail how the committee would approach those problems. He said he will hold "vigorous" hearings on the issue.[From SeattlePI.com.]

It is my personal opinion that putting Social Security tax money into the stock market does nothing except make stockbrokers wealthier, and make it easier for them to steal from taxpayers. The idea that by giving everyone more choice for the very base of retirement, disability and death benefits would do more than create winners and losers and eliminate any protection for the most unlucky while possibly making winners of the more lucky is ridiculous. It is not a good idea to gamble with the rent money.

Sensible people gamble with the money that is above the minimum needed to live on. Social Security is the rent and food money when other sources of income fail and cannot be replaced because of death, disability or retirement of the wageearner.

posted by Richard @ 8:48 AM