The Podcast Patriot

So I come across this interesting little article in the San Fransisco Times,

“In 2007, he received benefits of $23,157 from Social Security, approximately $1,930 a month. The maximum monthly benefit under Social Security is $2,185. Social Security benefits are determined by age at retirement.”

I know that McCain is 71, but that is not excuse.

Again, let me stress that I am apolitical about his presidential campaign– but for someone who claims to be so AGAINST the social security system, he didn’t miss a heartbeat to sign up and get his money.

I really must remember to take an Advil and get a wooden spoon to bite down on when I start reading the news, because it just gets me furious. Senator McCain is gainfully employed by the Congress with a annual salary larger than $140,000 per year. His wife is worth nearly $6 million dollars. If anyone in America doesn’t need $1,900 a month– it is John McCain.

So if the system is so broken, why make it worse by participating? It is not mandatory that he collect the money.

The original purpose of the Social Security Act was to limit dangers created by poverty and unemployment.
It was not untented to be a savings account or retirement system. The funding for the SSA was also never intended to be used as tax revenue for the Congress to spend.

Fixing Social Security is simple– kick off all the people who don’t need it. If you are 66 years old and working as a greeter at Wal-Mart for $25,000 a year, then by all means pick up that SSA check. If you are 71 years old earning $140k a year to blow off your job while campaigning for a new one– then you should get jack squat. The money is for the needy.

Does that sound leftist and socialist? Sure if you want to take the argument to extremes, but there are two very good reasons for Social Security:

1) It is the RIGHT thing to do. Those of us with homes, jobs, and happy families should count our blessings that we are so fortunate. We should not turn that fortune into something sour by being greedy. Part of living in a community is that we help the community remain healthy by sharing.

2) It is in all of our self interest to help the unfortunate. Not all poor people are lazy drug addicts. It isn’t like someone tried a few hits of poverty at a party and then found himself totally addicted to living in a crappy bug-infested apartment with no job prospects.

Just as we see how interconnected the sub-prime mortgage issue effects everyone– poverty does the same. A defaulted home is something that can lamented. A hundred defaulted homes drives banks into a credit-shy market, slows the flow of revenue to business, causes businesses to stop hiring new employees, increases unemployment, stops people from shopping, causes businesses to fire employees, increases unemployment, etc. The welfare of our country as a whole is not tied to just those who are doing well, but those who aren’t succeeded as well. Even poor people effect your personal economy and success.

So what is the solution? Well, to start, I like my first idea– kick off the people that don’t need the money. If McCain ends up in the poor house then he can apply, but if he doesn’t need it, then he shouldn’t get it.

That alone would change the dynamic of the entire system. No one would expect that income, but would know that it was there like an insurance policy.

The second thing to do is establish a federal retirement account. Economics professor Teresa Ghilarducci has written an interesting book, “When I’m Sixty-Four: the Plot Against pensions and the Plan to Save Them.” She makes a very compelling argument how private 401(k) plans are untrustworthy for a guaranteed retirement since there are so many factors in their success: the health of the stock market, company health, no guarantees of matching funds, etc.

A Federal Retirement Account would be set up like the Federal Reserve. Multiple wealth management companies would manage the overall health of the program and diversify the overall national portfolio. As stocks drops, bonds rise. As the dollar weakens, commodities like gold rise. Would there be a 15% return on investment that you may get one year from a private firm? No. However, there wouldn’t be massive losses if the market tanked either.

In addition, this money would be sequestered away from Congress. It would be held at the various Federal Reserves which are monitored by the government but administered by banks. The program would be accessed just like the current government Thrift Savings Plan, where you could borrow against the savings, and make your own decisions on funds programs to participate in.

The cost to the American citizen would be almost identical as the current SSA because the SSA would no longer be in the retirement funds business. Nearly half of all baby boomers wouldn’t qualify for social security because they already have retirement accounts and wealth. The national burden would be lifted to pay for those who didn’t need it.

You know…people like John McCain, who doesn’t much like Social Security anyway.