[Speed Gibson,
Saturday December 11, 2004 at 2:50pm]
Penny Wise
Many thanks to Leanne Adbnor and Tim Penny for a very well written argument for Social Security reform that includes some privitazation. Leanne Abdnor is president of For Our Grandchildren, a Social Security reform group. Tim Penny, former Democrat and Independence Party candidate for Governor in 2002, represented southeastern Minnesota for 12 years in Congress. Both served on President Bush's Commission to Strengthen Social Security.
They correct many of the misconceptions floating about. For example, the "transition cost" of privitazation (there must be a better word!) is $700 billion over 10 years, not the $1 trillion guestimate that has ballooned to $2 trillion of late. Unlike medical programs, the demographics and financials are well-understood, so there is no reason to accept these inflated scare figures.
The full commission report is available at the Commission's web site.
They correct many of the misconceptions floating about. For example, the "transition cost" of privitazation (there must be a better word!) is $700 billion over 10 years, not the $1 trillion guestimate that has ballooned to $2 trillion of late. Unlike medical programs, the demographics and financials are well-understood, so there is no reason to accept these inflated scare figures.
The full commission report is available at the Commission's web site.