[Paleopsych] The real point

[Steve Hovland]

The latest official projections by the trustees
say that the fund will be exhausted by about
2040.

By that time most of the Boomers, for whom
the trust was established, will be dead.

The system will return to "pay as you go,"
and there will not be a huge number of
old people burdening the system.

I think a lot of the information about the
proportion of workers to beneficiaries is
false.  Take a look at this chart of "people
under 18."  I don't see either a huge
bubble or a huge falloff.

AMERICANS UNDER AGE EIGHTEEN
Year	Millions	Percent of
Population
1950	47.3	31.1%
1960	64.5	35.7%
1970	69.8	34.0%
1980	63.7	28.0%
1990	64.2	25.7%
1998	69.8	25.9%

Steve Hovland
www.stevehovland.net


-----Original Message-----
From:	Lynn D. Johnson, Ph.D. [SMTP:ljohnson at solution-consulting.com]
Sent:	Saturday, April 09, 2005 9:30 AM
To:	The new improved paleopsych list
Subject:	Re: [Paleopsych] The real point

Actually, the real point of SS reform is to make it sustainable when the 
outgo vastly exceeds the income. A secondary point is to reduce the 
Democratic base by making poor people wealthy. Ironic, isn't it? Wealthy 
people vote Republican, in spite of the fact that Republicans have also 
horribly mismanaged government spending.

The positive cash flow will run out. The point at which that happens 
keeps moving, maybe as soon as 2014, nine years hence. There on, it gets 
more and more grim, until finally all the bonds are redeemed and there 
aren't enough productive workers to cover social security.

The bonds can only be redeemed by either:
    - reducing other government expenses and transfering the money
    - raising taxes
    - both
None of these involve theft, except to the extent that so-called 
entitlement programs are reduced. That constitutes theft if you assume 
it is government's job to provide money for people who don't earn it.

Arguably raising taxes involves theft, since it is a forced 
confiscation. But I doubt you mean that.

Steve Hovland wrote:

>The real point of Social Security "reform" is 
>to find some way to avoid redeeming the bonds 
>in the trust fund.
>
>In other words, to steal the money.
>
>
>Steve Hovland
>www.stevehovland.net
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>paleopsych mailing list
>paleopsych at paleopsych.org
>http://lists.paleopsych.org/mailman/listinfo/paleopsych
>
>
>  
>

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