If we're going to collect a load of material on SS, then one area we should certainly be looking into is the miserable failure of means-tested benefits always and everywhere.
dd -----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Frank, Ellen Sent: 05 November 2004 22:47 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Social Security From: PEN-L list on behalf of Joel Blau But just as a hard practical matter, since Bush's own commission on social security couldn't agree on a plan, where are they going to get to the $2 trillion in transition costs? I think the answer is that they don't plan to get it at all. They plan to cut benefits and raise payroll taxes. By the way,if you are interested in critiquing private accounts, try this exercise: make a spreadsheet with the median income for a college grad by some reasonable 5 over 40 years. Take 2% of that each year and compound it by a reasonable moderate risk real return less management fees (say 3.5%) and see what you end up with. Not much. Now deduct the cost of annuitization. I have written a lot on SS, some of which is in my new book, The Raw Deal. SS is best thought of as an inter- generational transfer program. We care for the elderly with the understanding that the next generation will care for us when we are old. It is not possible for SS to go broke because it is not a financial/savings program. Someone told me yesterday that they had read that Kerry had SS might need to be means-tested. She couldn't remember where she read it. Anyone else seen this? Ellen
