Social Security Means Testing: A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush!

In one of his first initiatives as President, George W. Bush proposed privatizing approximately 3% or less of an individual’s social security contributions to relieve pressure on the social security system in the future. These were to placed into one of three different funds operated by private investment companies but the nature and contents of the funds regulated by the government.

THE DEMOCRATS HOWLED!! People would fritter away the money, they said. They would be coming to the government for reimbursement if they lost the money, they said. Private investment firms would rob them of the contributed funds, they said.

Fast forward to 2010/11! Social Security, the single biggest entitlement for which the government in on the hook, is broke. The government smashed the lock box, stole the money, frittered it away and robbed those who contributed to it. Now the government has to put the money back...and surprise of surprises…it doesn’t have money. And now we are broke. Guess what…the government can’t bail us out. Isn't that what they were supposed to save us from?

Social Security is the single most popular program ever instituted by the government. Originally intended to supplement the retirement income of depression era pensioners who had already lived past life expectancy, everyone contributed to the system, and everyone withdrew from the system based on what one contributed.

But as in all things government, the program grew and expanded, and many people came to view social security as their total retirement, which it never was intended to be. The system was not an annuity type system, but a giant Ponzi scheme, wherein those who contributed to it previously were paid their share out of those who were contributing to it currently. That was fine as long as the baby boomers were working to support those above then. But now the triangle is reversing, making it impossible for those coming up to support that massive demographic bloat on top of them. And the government spent the money anyway…all that is in the system is a bunch of IOU’s that government can’t pay back. And the Democrats were worried about George Bush’s privatization plan? Hello!!!!

Couple that with people living into their nineties, and 75% of those eligible for social security take early retirement at age 62, instead of currently waiting for full benefits at 67. As the insurance commercial says, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

President Obama’s blue ribbon panel made several recommendations to save social security, including raising the retirement age to 70, increasing contributions…and using means testing as a prerequisite to receiving any benefits. Translated, if you are wealthy, notwithstanding how much you paid into it, you ain’t getting’ a dime out.

This proposal is being supported by Republicans and Democrats alike. Here’s the problem. If the government does this, the fundamental nature of the program will change. It will just become another welfare program. They tell you now that it would only effect the uber wealthy of the country. After all, why should Bill Gates or Warren Buffett get a social security check? They obviously don’t need the money.

On the other hand, government welfare programs always experience government creep. First, it will be the very wealthy..then the wealthy…then the upper middle class…then the middle class who will be determined to be too wealthy for Social Security. Why should anyone save for their old age if they know that the social security withholding from their paycheck every other week will be going to someone else who didn't save?

Means testing for Social Security is a dangerous game. The government might just end up with a bunch of totally broke senior citizens who decided better to spend the money while they can enjoy just so long as the government will use somebody else’s money to support them. After all, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

The Awakening States

Obama will go down in history as a weak president. When the Democratic Senator from West Virginia asks his President to please lead…you know there it trouble. Not to fear, the number one rule of Political Science is proven again. In politics, there is never a vacuum. The states are rushing in to fill the void.

The concept of states’ rights is something we learned about in school not fully comprehending what it means. It was argued at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was enshrined in the Articles of Confederation, and compromised in the Constitution. Seventy years after the signing of the Constitution, America fought a civil war in which 600,000 Americans died to redefine the rights of the union vs. the rights of the states.

In his book entitled Lincoln and the Decision for War, Russell McClintock examines the development of two different views of the United States. In the north, the Union was sacrosanct. In the south, it was viewed as a voluntary association. How, he asks, did the north develop that sense of a non-dissolvable union…and why were northerners ready to die for it? This in light of historic compromises over the years to appease southern sensibilities and protect the institution of slavery not only vital to the southern economy, but to the northern businessmen who fed the horrible beast.

People who are fifty and older have a strong sense of union. Forged in the hardship of the great Depression and honed in the tragedy of World War II, the issue of states’ rights was not within the realm of daily discourse. As the civil rights movement rose to the surface beginning in the late 1950’s and moving forward, America wasn’t shocked when the Federal government once again sent troops into the south to enforce civil rights legislation. The trend toward centralized Federal power marched unyieldingly forward, and we accepted it.

Reagan tapped the brakes, but he didn’t come close to stopping it. More and more programs came out of Washington. More and more spending came out of Washington. More and more regulation came out of Washington. Then America was faced with ultimate conundrum. If the Federal government was so powerful, if the Federal government had all of our financial institutions regulated to the hilt, how in the midst of all of this centralized bureaucratic authority did our economy nearly self destruct in 2008? And if the government was looking out for our welfare…how is Social Security about to go broke?

Obama got elected by a fluke, and his answer was more government and the enactment of the single biggest entitlement in the history of the Republic. It is so cumbersome and so complicated, even Obama can’t comprehend its dire consequences as he and his administration continually hand “exemptions” to states and corporations to prevent it from collapsing the economy and our health care system.

So the states are turning away, and once again the role of the states is being examined by a public who has turned its back on a non-responsive, corrupt Washington. Obama is President of the United States…but nobody is listening anymore. The power has shifted to the states and the governors.

Today, John Kasich gave Ohio’s State of the State address in Columbus. Not once in my entire lifetime have I heard anyone discuss the Governor of Ohio’s State of the State of address. Not once in my lifetime have I heard anyone discuss the importance of state government and our identites as Ohioans. Not once have I heard the welfare of Ohio being pitted against other states, unless it was in football, and I don’t intend that to be a joke. All of this was heard today.

Whether you agree with Kasich or not, he certainly has raised the stakes for state government in a period where federal authority is collapsing. And it is happening in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, California, Wisconsin…all across this great country people are looking to the states instead of the Feds for answers.

Does Romneycare work in Massachusetts? Can we set up state clinics here in Ohio to relieve the burden from hospital emergency rooms? How much of state government functions should be privatized? What is the relationship between state government and state employees? How does Ohio tax structure need to be altered to compete with Kentucky? What about redefining school districts and school consolidation to cut administrative costs?

Never did I think I would live to see the day when these types of mundane state issues be the topic of conversation at the water cooler. Never did I ever think that being an Ohioan is actually important, and we need to redefine ourselves in terms of our state.

Maybe Obama will go down in history as a great President...the one who re-awakened the concepts of statehood and states’rights. Perhaps America is too big and unwieldy for a one size fits all federal solution to our problems. The founding fathers gave us the answer. Let’s hear it for the states.

Kasich's Gamble With America's Future

Leaving behind the policy merits of SB 5, Governor Kasich is making the gamble of his political life that may affect the national political scene for the next several years. Going into this winter, momentum at the national level clearly belonged to the Republicans. The abuse of power and sheer disregard for the will of the American people exhibited by the Democrats propelled them right into the muck in one of the biggest political losses in recent history. Left to stand by itself, this momentum was sufficient to carry over to the 2012 election in which the Republicans could retake the Senate and Presidency. It could be the political stunner of the millennium, relegating the Democrats to minority status for the next twenty years.

Enter Wisconsin and Ohio and the very public fight with the public employees unions. Both of these states have huge Republican majorities in the legislatures with Republican governors that aren’t afraid to use them. And use them they are pushing forward to effectively neuter these unions into irrelevance.

Elections have consequences, and both candidates clearly indicated that the end of public employee collective bargaining would be a priority in their administrations. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

Nothing motivates a constituency like defeat. The success of the Tea Party movement is an example as it reacted to the health care reform act in ways unprecedented in our history. Never before has the nation seen a grass roots movement surface so quickly with absolutely no central leadership. However like all such movements, there are still a fair amount of true believers still around and doing a great job, but the fringe of the group falls off as the motivation for the movement wanes. With grass roots movements, success often spells the end of the mass appeal of the movement. The Tea Party has been successful, no doubt about it.

But that momentum has shifted to the unions, and they are suffering what can be described as nothing less than humiliation at the hands of Republican legislators and governors. Not that turn around isn’t fair play. The Dems did the same thing in Washington before the Republicans took over the House.

Unfortunately for the Republicans, the motivation for revenge is now with the unions, who will continue to enjoy energetic members, strong political know how, and unlimited amounts of money…in states that matter in the 2012 Presidential election.

Ohio in particular is the prize. No Republican has won the White House without Ohio. Kasich himself won the governorship with a 2 point margin. There is a strong chance that a referendum on repealing SB 5 will be on the 2012 ballot jeapordizing an almost sure Ohio victory for the Republican Presidential candidate in a wave in motivated union and Democratic voters out for revenge. What is he thinking?

This only goes to show that good policy does not always make for good politics. In the case of SB 5, Kasich could have taken a more surgical approach to the problem. He chose not to, and ended up not only poking the sleeping union lion, but alienated some southwest Ohio Republicans with a fair measure of union constituency. He even removed one Republican from the Senate Committee marking up the bill because he was going to vote against it.

Add to the mix that this is a bad bill. Just as Obama and his Democratic cohorts passed a badly crafted ideologically based health care bill that more likely than not will be declared unconstitutional; Ohio Senate Bill 5 may face the same fate! In particular, the portions of the law that says teacher salaries are to be based on “merit” are vague to the point where it may violate the Equal Protection provisions of the United States Constitution. With no specificity as to what constitutes merit, what lies ahead is a plethora of sex and age discrimination suits as some school boards define “merit” as who is sleeping with the Principal; who is flirting; who is attractive vs. unattractive; maybe they want a “younger” staff….you get the picture. This bill is a lawyers dream, and school systems better get their checkbooks ready to pay some hefty legal fees.

As a Republican who is not a fan of any unions both by ideology and personal experience, this bill is a humdinger. Kasich should feel free to gamble with his own political fate, but to me there is no more important political goal than to rid the nation of Barack Obama and his leftist cabal. Those are the stakes in 2012.

Obama's Legacy: Progressive Collapse; Right Resurgent

I am continually astounded at what I see happening in our great country. Barack Obama’s election marked the biggest shift to the left in the United States in my lifetime. This guy was, and is, an avowed progressive. A fluke in economic circumstances rooted in the misdeeds of both political parties allowed a leftist Congress to follow him to Washington.

For two years, these folks bullied into law some of the most radical legislation passed since the early days of FDR…and like FDR, much of it will eventually be found to be unconstitutional. In addition, Obama stacked his advisers and staff with some of the most radical individuals we have ever seen in Washington, bypassing the Congress by making these special executive appointments. He silenced Hillary Clinton, his main adversary in the Democratic Party, by appointing her Secretary of State, and burying here like no other Secretary of State I can remember.

It’s ironic therefore, that Obama’s legacy to this country will be the single biggest jolt to the right in its history, the dismantling of 80 years of growth of Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the gutting of the last vestiges of the American labor movement which is found in the public employee unions.

State by state, a new America is being born with power reverting to the states. The weight of the massive increase in the size of the Federal government is too much for the system to bear, and it is collapsing from the top down. With a weak central leader, the states are reasserting their rightful place in the governance of the country.

While the events in Wisconsin are the most visible of this seismic event in American history, a more serious example is found in Alaska, where the Governor Sean Parnell announced last week that Alaska is simply refusing to implement Obamacare in its state. He announced that his state will not comply with the terms of the legislation. Using the Florida federal court ruling declaring the Health Care Reform Act unconstitutional, and more importantly citing the financial ruin that will be thrust upon his states by the unfunded Medicaid mandates in the law, Governor Parnell just said no. And what is the Federal Government going to do? Send in the troops? March into the governor’s office and throw him out? Take over the operation of the state? I don’t think so.

Obama’s vision of utopia is so cumbersome and so top heavy it is almost physically impossible to implement. His administration is overtly granting “waivers” to his friends and friendly states. Do you think for one minute the rest of the country will sit idly by? They will just say “no” also.

Meanwhile, part of the impetus to the states to dismantle public employee unions is based not only the huge deficits currently on the state books, but also what they are facing under the new mandates from the Washington. Obama’s best friends, the unions, are bearing the brunt of the problem. In Wisconsin, it isn’t union pensions that have caused the deficits. It isn't union employee salaries or benefits that have caused the deficits. It isn’t those no good school teachers that has caused the problems. IT IS MEDICAID, AND THE NEWLY PASSED MEDICAID MANDATES. Translate: Obamacare is the root of the problem of Wisconsin. It is the straw that is breaking the camel's back across the nation.

The law of unintended consequences is raising its head in Alaska and Wisconsin. One state is simply refusing to comply. The other is forcing the cost onto the only place it can, public employees. And as cronyism grows geometrically in Washington, non-compliance with these cumbersome edicts will grow in the country.

If Alaska just says no…what do you think will happen if everyone just says no? Such are the rewards of having a law school professor constitutional scholar President who taught how to get around the Constitution rather than reverence for it.

Nitwits in Charge

Are there any leaders left in America? Look at the country. Look at the world. This is what things look like with America floundering like a rudderless ship. All groups need a leader in order to function. Whether it is the family of nations worldwide, or your local card club, someone has to be in charge. Since the November election, America seems to be MIA. This lies directly in front of the door of Barack Obama who seems to be shell shocked.

Obama apparently can’t come to grips with the political reality of the country. Liberal ideas often look good on paper, but when the rubber hits the road, it becomes like the television sitcom Boy Meets World. What looks good on paper often doesn’t translate well.

Domestically, with his agenda DOA in Congress, and what he passed over the past two years in jeopardy, he is acting like he doesn’t know what to do. His reaction to the crisis in Egypt was tepid and somewhat indecisive, although it is still too early to tell how things are going to work out. Domestically, his budget proposal was universally panned by Republicans and Democrats…and he actually picked up some criticism from the press. Now, with the mess in Wisconsin, he retreats to his usual union posture rather than trying to do something creative which might actually be helpful.

Outside of Egypt, things have never been more dangerous in the Mideast than they are right now. This is what happens when dangerous nations perceive weakness. Iran is attempting to move warships through the Suez Canal for the first time since the Islamic revolution. The Egyptian upheaval has opened the door to the Muslim Brotherhood entering the political mainstream. Other allies such as Jordan and Bahrain have entered the danger zone. This isn’t good. Bahrain is particularly dangerous with major United States military installations at risk if it falls the Shiite control.

South of the border in Mexico, violence is escalating. Americans are being shot. There is complete anarchy the length of the Mexican/Texas border with whole towns deserted. Instead of addressing the rapid Mexican descent into chaos, Obama's Justice Department continues its merry way suing states that attempt to close their borders.

Domestically, the country is drowning in debt. While he gives lip service to wanting to get it under control, his actions speak louder than his words. States and some municipalities are on the verge of bankruptcy…and he is off visiting tech plants in Washington State and giving pep talks in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the states are collapsing, and reports are tonight that Obama's Organizing for America political arm and the Democratic National Committee are underwriting this mess in Madison, Wisconsin. Any doubts about an Obama move to the middle should be dispelled tonight. His comments relating to Wisconsin are inappropriate, but certainly in character.

The Republicans aren’t doing much better in the leader department. John Boehner is a nice guy, and boring. Among the array of potential presidential candidates, Chris Christie of New Jersey seems to have caught the fancy of party operatives and the media…but he says he is not running and apparently means it (right!!). But the rest of the field is non-inspiring to downright annoying. (I luv Sarah Palin...but for President?? I think not!!)

Right now, for the first time in my lifetime, the fate of America rests with the people. All political movement and activity seems to be grass roots oriented and moving by osmosis. Let’s hope that the collective wisdom of the nation moves the country in the right direction inspite of the nitwit political leaders with whom we are currently blessed.

School Daze

In a recent article in Newsweek Magazine, George Will examined American education. He focused on Arne Duncan, Obama’s Secretary of Education. He came to the job with an impressive resume. His family is rooted in college academia, his father being a professor of psychology. His mother ran an after school center for mostly disadvantaged mostly African American children in a economically challenged Chicago neighborhood.

Duncan, himself, is a magna cum laude Harvard graduate with a degree in sociology. After graduation, he went Australia and played professional basketball for a number of years, succeeded by a stint back in Chicago in mentoring underprivileged children. That, in turn, led to numerous other government social work type jobs, culminating in being appointed CEO of the Chicago Public School System. His success there is either praised or vilified, depending on one’s point of view as is all things in education.

But his stint was viewed as a success by Chicago’s favorite son, Barack Obama, and he is now the top gun educator in the United States.

George Will states that Duncan takes a realistic approach to the status of American education believing the most American students are unprepared for college. His is also aware of the anomalies in our system. For example, although we spend more on education per pupil than any other nation except for Luxemburg, performance levels of American students only equal those of Estonia and Poland which spend ½ as much per pupil.

He also apparently realizes that class size is irrelevant as to the learning ability of students once they get passed 3rd grade. I wrote last week that I learned more mathematics in a Catholic school setting with 50-60 in a class, than I did in a public school setting which then had class sizes around 30. Mr. Will commented that the class size argument made continuously today are fed by unions hoping schools will hire more teachers that will pay more union dues. I’m not sure Mr. Duncan is that cynical, and neither am I, but then again one never knows!!

Mr. Duncan and Mr. Will seem to agree on one thing. While one can argue about class size until the cows come home, the quality of the teacher at the head of the class makes a difference. Singapore ranks 2nd internationally in math performance for 15 year olds while American rank 25th. In Singapore, you must be in the top 30% of your academic class to be accepted into its education schools. Translated: all teachers in Singapore are in the top 1/3 of their class! In the United States, only 23% of our teachers come from the top 1/3 of their academic class. In fact, the average student entering an education school ranks only the 41st percentile in math and the 46th percentile in critical reading on applicable college boards. This, in turn, leads Mr. Duncan to the conclusion that he would rather have a top notch teacher teach a class of 30 than a mediocre teacher teach a class of 20.

As in any such debate, statistics can be slanted one way or the other. Anecdotally, they may be right, especially when looking at the hiring practices of various school systems which seems and abortion between hiring sports coaches, bus drivers, secretaries…and oh yes…someone to teach science.

At the end of the day, the problems in education are more likely rooted in the decline in our culture as a whole, a decline in the American family structure, and the legalities imposed on schools by the courts. How does one fix that?

Reference is made to MR. DUNCAN'S SMART LESSON PLAN by George Will; Newsweek Magazine; February 7, 2011; Page 16.

Bastardi's Weather

How bad have we been duped by the global warming crowd? Probably more than you know, and more than the government will eventually have to admit. Joe Bastardi, chief meteorologist for Accuweather, gave a compelling anti-global warming rant this morning that should be sufficient to give all global warming whackos pause…even AlGore.

Commenting on the massive winter storm which a 1/3 of the nation has just experienced, he stated that this is just the beginning. He believes that we are in for a prolonged period extremely cold winters that might even approach the mini-ice age status of the late 1700’s/early 1800’s. Huh? He went onto to state that the rise in global temperatures has reversed itself, and will continue to trend downward over the next thirty years due to three events: La Nina and a natural change in something called the PDA which occurs every 20-30 years; a change in sunspot patterns; and increase volcanic activity. He went on to say that cold is worse than warm, because it takes substantially more energy to heat than to cool…not a good thing in a time of rising energy costs.

He further commented that the purveyors of global warming have taken ownership of all answers to unanswerable questions about climate and weather. Whether it is too many hurricanes or too few hurricanes; too much snow or not enough snow; flooding along the Mississippi or drought in Georgia…the answer is ALWAYS global warming.

Just a year ago the global warming crowd was saying the amount of snowfall was going to decrease to the point where there would be next to none. Now they are explaining the excessive snowfall in recent winters by claiming the global warming is causing evaporation of water which is manifesting itself now in snow. It reminds of the story that the reason people were told to use the revolving doors in department stores was to generate electricity to run the escalators.

It is clear to me that America needs to get its head on straight when dealing with issues of so-called climate change. The exposure of doctored test results last year from the center of all things global warming muted the discussion. But the advocates still walk among us…mostly in Washington.

These folks are not environmentalists. They are social justice advocates who are using the issue to redistribute wealth…mostly from the United States. You hear very little about China and India, who are the worst offenders of all sorts of pollution. In fact, we are supposed to give them a pass… much like health care exemptions which are being handed out like party favors to Obama’s cronies.

The Obama administration is still hell bent to end fossil fuel use. Congress will block his cap and trade global warming legislation. But watch what Obama does with his EPA trying to accomplish the same thing by decree.

We would do well to listen to Joe Bastardi…and closely watch the machinations of Barack Obama and his EPA. Global warming ideologues don't take no for an answer, even if the snow is up to their ass.