[Paleopsych] the welfare state

[Lynn D. Johnson, Ph.D.]

Agreed, excellent point, although the Bush plan still offers a number of 
advantages, mostly that when you take the money away from politicians 
and invest it:
    1. The economy is helped by greater capital being available for 
growth, and
    2. The politicans can't spend it like they did the falsely-named 
social security trust fund. All that money is gone, spent, and nothing 
buy IOUs left. Pork like Japan's pork that has bankrupted that 
government, nothing to show for it.
    3. The money really does belong to the person who earned it, not to 
government bureaucrats.

The reason welfare states don't work is precisely because Steve's 
logical idea, sound in principle and practice, is not being adopted. 
Policy based on pressure groups, not on principle. The failure to adopt 
makes me more libertarian in outlook, distrusting government because of 
the lack of accountability.

"government doesn't solve problems, it subsidizes them."
    R. R.

Lynn

Steve Hovland wrote:

>The real way to fix Social Security is to raise
>the retirement age, which would require a
>major expenditure of political capital :-)
>
>When Germany set up their pension system
>the life expectancy was 67 years, so they
>figured a retirement age of 65 wouldn't break
>the bank.
>
>Now that many people live decades beyond
>65, we simply can't afford it, nor should we.
>
>Steve Hovland
>www.stevehovland.net
>  
>