Sorry for posting yesterday’s column late . . . for offending Democrats by suggesting checks be sent to the RNC . . . for offending Republicans by suggesting checks be sent to the DNC . . . and (while I’m at it), for offending cat-lovers on Friday. I have learned there are some furry things about which one just does not joke.Meanwhile, don’t miss Paul Krugman’s crystal clear piece in Sunday’s New York Times on the Social Security report that has just been issued.
One paragraph to suggest its flavor:
The commission, in an attempt to sow panic, claims that Social Security is in imminent peril – that the system will be in crisis as soon as 2016. That’s wildly at odds with the standard projection, which says that Social Security reserves will last until 2038. And even that projection is based on quite pessimistic assumptions about future economic growth and hence future payroll tax receipts. If you use more optimistic assumptions – say, the assumptions in the budget forecasts that were used to justify Mr. Bush’s tax cut – the system will still be financially sound in 2075.
And one more clip (well, this stuff is important!):
. . . [T]he commission declares that these accumulated assets [in the Social Security Trust Fund] aren’t “real,” and don’t count as resources available to pay future benefits. Why? Because they are invested in government bonds – perfectly good assets when they are accumulated by private pension funds but worthless, says the commission, when accumulated by a government agency.
