| | I'm with Jeff on this. When I'm of age, I'll request my social security payments - as mine - I paid in more than I'll ever collect. Our grandparents generation paid a 2% payroll tax. (1%/1%)
Our parents generation paid a 6% payroll tax. (3%/3%)
Our generation has paid a 15% payroll tax. (7.65%/7.65%)
If the price asked of our children to 'request what is mine' is to deliver them into a 40% or 50% payroll tax, ie, serfdom to the state, do I still want that for 'me?'
Here is another thought.
The Greatest generation wrestled with the Great Depression in their salad days, then a nation half our present size put 16 million of themselves into uniform, and borrowed the equivalent of $3T in today's dollars, to ramp up the arsenal of Democracy, aka, our own do or die melding of business and industry and the guns of government, a soft fascism, to face down other Totalitarian alternatives. While doing so, that nation half our present size left over 400,000 of themselves in the meatgrinder, fighting Totalitarainism. I'm thankful they did, but the soft crony fascism yet remains in our also imperfect tribe, and yet feeds itself, as evidenced in the current connected crony free-for-some.
But, we can argue that without the Greatest Generation's sacrifices, none of the free economies created since would exist. We could say, their generational pain was front end loaded, and we could also say that the current defined benefit from of SS was a well deserved, one time, generational 'thank you' to the Greatest Generation, to which we owe every free world economic opportunity that we have enjoyed since. If the Boomer Generation takes the time to intelligently transition SS to a defined contribution program, then FDRs flagship will last forever without placing our fewer children into a forced serfdom to the state. That will mean that the government will not be able to keep its political promises, which it can only do by delivering our fewer kids into serfdom to the state. It means, that our somewhat reduced benefits will cause our generational pain to be somewhat backend loaded. Well, so what? It's not like getting slightly less benefits from SS is the same as leaving a leg in Normandy.
Want more benefits from our new defined contribution form of SS? Then do what the Greatest Generation did, and ... have more kids. Feed them, banadage their skinned knees, send them to school. Or, buy that second vacation home, instead. But, what we do as a generation for this inter-generational program precisely defines generational fairness.
Politicians can still monkey with this to their vote buying heart's content. For example, I can imagine two tiers of SS, one for folks with voluntary military or other national service, and one for not. But, that is entirely consistant with regarding the present form of SS as a one time thank you tot he Greatest Generation, for their sacrifices to the nation. Ie, paying our bill. But, pay for those two tiers from a defined contrinution plan, that is a constant burden on futured generations, not an ever growing burden on future generations.
That is, if we are going to support a tribal system of collective pension management at all, which the current political context we all find ourselves benefiting from, enjoying, supporting has long ago decided to support. For as long as continue to do so, as opposed to heading off to www.privateislands.com, we have an ethical obligation to support the political context we benefit from.
My asking your kids to labor under a 40% payroll tax their entire lives, to pay 'my' benefits, is not an ethical choice, if I have labored only under a generational 15% payroll tax my entire adult life. Nopbody who loves their children would deliberately do this to them.
regards,
Fred
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