"That would be fine if the Social Security money actually belonged to the government. But it doesn't."
All of the extra regressive payroll taxes people have been putting in since 1983 have already been borrowed and spent by older generations, on (based on what else has changed since then) lower progressive income taxes and higher health care spending on today's seniors. No way younger generations will see those benefits when they get old, even at much higher tax rates, and given obesity rates their health is likely to be worse. I spelled all this out here.
But no, the federal government and the Congress are not our worst nighmare. The State of New York and the state legislature are. Most of what they have done has been like that. Ask Robert Kiley. Someone I know heard him speak at a conference on federalism, when the Republican idea of shifting authority back to the states was in vogue. That may be a good idea in theory, he said, but a lot of those state governments stink, especially ours!
All of the extra regressive payroll taxes people have been putting in since 1983 have already been borrowed and spent by older generations, on (based on what else has changed since then) lower progressive income taxes and higher health care spending on today's seniors. No way younger generations will see those benefits when they get old, even at much higher tax rates, and given obesity rates their health is likely to be worse. I spelled all this out here.
But no, the federal government and the Congress are not our worst nighmare. The State of New York and the state legislature are. Most of what they have done has been like that. Ask Robert Kiley. Someone I know heard him speak at a conference on federalism, when the Republican idea of shifting authority back to the states was in vogue. That may be a good idea in theory, he said, but a lot of those state governments stink, especially ours!