Free For All - The Free Liberal Blog: Update on social security

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A Better World
"Fair Trade Coffee" Hurts the Poor The Job of President Not Playing It Safe in Uganda Escaping the State? "Both our laws and our highest ideals" Obama -- Beacon of Hope? Lions for Lambs Lost Lesson of Thanksgiving Woodstock > Vietnam as Yin > Yang Last Night's Republican Debate The Rub on Vick Aaron Russo, RIP The Simpsons as Free Liberal Mythology? Notes on Sicko Greenberg on Immigration Someone in cable "news" has a clue Us (Us Us Us Us), and Them (Them Them Them).... Virginia Tech Every Day Ending Poverty: What Works? Amazing Grace Review Amazing Grace Let Me In--Recovery from Autism is Possible! Ron Paul Running for Prez! Left-Libertarians and workers of the world unite! On the Passing of Milton Friedman 300 million people Institute for Justice -- A Pro-Freedom Gem Global Family and Day of Peace Day or where is Tom Lehrer when you really need him! A failure to communicate The Tree Climbing Actress

About Free For All
Digg Away! Eric Dondero and The Free Liberal Changing of the Guard Bob Capozzi, Senior Editor Corporate State and Medicine Testing, 1,2,3... Introducing Free For All -- The Free Liberal Blog Pre-launch Testing

Economics
Amtrak Ridership at "Record" Levels, More Subsidies Needed The Housing Bill The Future of Tax Reform What Does Barack Obama Know? The Swimming Brits Enivornmentalism Turns Against Itself *UPDATED* Milton Friedman: Singlehandedly responsible for libertarianism Wal Mart Katrina Response Illustrates Government's Failure Vote for Freedom Warmongering vs. Socialism Fed to Blame? Undo the Obstacles to the Manifestation of Comparative Advantage The Mercantilist Impulse Bottoms Up Boudreaux on the Falling Dollar Liberty Dollars: What's the Big Deal? Colorado Residents Missing Rebates Club for Growth Assessment of Ron Paul: Fair or Hatchet Job? What is Libertarian Paternalism? Huckabee's Smoking Ban Wall Street's Nanny Ron Paul and Bernanke Private Dollars Lead New Orleans Recovery No Magic Wand Whole Foods, Monopolist? The Inflation Tax Politically Incorrect and proud of it The great inflation cover-up The biggest lies told by the state Beckham: Not About the Money The Matter of $1 Tyler Cowen Calls for Carbon Tax Trans-Texas Corridor and Sovreignty A Desire Named Streetcar Pre-K in the Womb? Does the Dear Leader Understand Incentives? Too High? Why so Low? Uncle Sam: worse than Enron Taxaphobia? 10 Worst Government Programs Problems with geoanarchism? Assume We Do

Education
Find out if you could be on Leno's "Jaywalking" Vouchers defeated in Utah A Free Market in Education?

Energy
Lets Drill Our Way to Lower Taxes Jeanne Dixon, Russia v. Georgia, China, the CIA and Global Warming Backyard Nukes? Is Transit Really Green? Enivornmentalism Turns Against Itself *UPDATED* Calculating the Cost of a Carbon Tax The Price of Gas, Again Problem Already Solved? Life After the Oil Crash 4 Life After the Oil Crash 3 Life After the Oil Crash 2 Life After the Oil Crash

Europe
Jeanne Dixon, Russia v. Georgia, China, the CIA and Global Warming Sticking it to the Welfare State Austrian Darkness & EU Light

Events
Honoring Milton Friedman on July 31 DEBATE: How Much to Spend on Climate Change? “Who Cares About Anarchy When You Can Have Limited Government?” Is Extremism a Virtue? Is Extremism a Virtue? It’s All Opportunism "Immigration reform and its challenges" -- event this Wednesday Robert Fuller Event at Busboys and Poets Right Against War with Iran

Foreign Policy
Jeanne Dixon, Russia v. Georgia, China, the CIA and Global Warming What is happening in South Ossetia? American Conservative Defense Alliance: Fighting the War Party Jon Stewart Takes on AIPAC Democracies and War Do Muslims Really Hate Us? The Lies Have It Burying Hitler Israel: NIE Report Could Spark War Bomb Iran, bomb, bomb, Iran Why did libertarians support the war? John Howard Deserved to Lose A Legacy of Losing: JFK, Obama and Viet Nam Disagreeing with Ron Paul Another great, but obscure anti-war classic Iraq = Vietnam? Bush: President for Life? Response to Randy Barnett The Push to Keep Us in Iraq Bizarro Libertarianism The CIA: Still evil after all these years Reason author Clueless on libertarian foreign policy USS Liberty

Immigration
Illegal Immigration and Moral Turpitude Immigration and Polls Ron Paul Ad Not What I'm Donating For Immigration: Global Warming on the right Republicans: Again the Stupid Party

Individualist Values
Sex, Birth Control and Gay Marriage Mark Twain: An Original Free Liberal Tabarrok on Living Under Authoritarian Regimes Obama is Right on Leviticus Dancing and the Law Frank Talk About Irony Beltway Libertarians a Sad Tale Undercutting Collectivist Thinking, One Award at a Time Is Your Doctor/Lawyer/Accountant Endangering Your Privacy? Politicians Live by One Set of Rules, We Live by Another Early Retirement = Unpatriotic? Free to be Fatty US, Britian Ethnically Cleanse Diego Garcia Lost Libertarianism at Watership Down McCain Should Have Been at Woodstock Libertarian Paternalism? Do we serve the state or does the state serve us? The Love of Power vs. Power of Love Hey Hillary (and the rest of the nicotine Nazis) A bad argument for ending prohibition Another great Libertarian song Latest Bush Concept: Loyalty Day! Workers of the world unite and smash the state! Reps. Rangel and Flake agree??? Libertarian horror New Mexico Property Owners Finally Protecte New Mexico Becomes 11th State to Adopt Medical Marijuana Big Government Conservatives Dixie Chicks Among Esteemed Outlaws How to Disable RFID Chips in Your New Passport Muhammad Ali's Mixed Legacy Pro-peace, Pro-slavery? Sexy Nurses Illegal? Important new book Bipartisan thuggery Re: Bad idea dead Milton Friedman's greatest accomplishment Remember, Remember Remember, Remember, re: Rendering unto Caesar Rendering unto Caesar Enough to make any libertarian (or red-blooded Ayn Rand fan) drool. Gangster Politicians Re: Reform the LP Is Liberty on the March, Backwards??? Rockin in the Free World Snakes on a Plane "Libertarians" for the draft? Killing the Death Tax: A Liberal's View Re: the Pesky Section 8 Destroying Individual Virtue

Medical Freedom
Government Health Care Crowding Out the Right Prescription? CATO versus Michael Moore WWE versus the state: round II Brave New World Update Brave New World Update Good News in the War on Drugs Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The Marginal Benefit of Health Care Who's Afraid of Frankenstein?

Natural Rights
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Free Liberals at the National Taxpayers Union Conference

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Rule of Law
Lincoln's Legacy Denver Cops Beat Man Silly Land of the Free or Evil Empire? TSA's No Fly List Politicized Anarchy Works? Taking Olbermann and Obama to Task for FISA Support Illegally Download Music, Lose Your House? The Truman Transformation The Thugs of Redford Township Park Police Thugs Destroy Liberty in the Shadow of Jefferson Taxation is Theft. Go for it! 283 Nonarchy Pods -- Comin' Right Up “Original Intent”: Then, Now and Forever Alberto Gonzales Steps Down Orwell update State Secrets and National Security The Secretive Execution of Saddam Hussein The Case of Cory Maye

TFL Update
Moving my Blogging Publish JDM! Stumbling on Buddha The Free Liberal -- Expanding its Presence Nationwide Featured on the Free Liberal

The Freedomnista Movement
Honoring Kent Snyder Kent Snyder: Hail and Farewell Personally, I kinda want to slay the dragon...Let's Get to Work Ron Paul r(EVOL)tionary triumphs Happy Birthday Paul Jacob! Lew Rockwell? Is the Horse Dead? Despicable Behavior The L Word Is the Libertarian Party worth the fight? A Dear Friend Lost We broke it, we bought it? Fall reading The Nazi Welfare State Notes from the Parlor Game Hands held high quote of the month Take a few minutes See Ron Paul Wednesday Quote of the week Ron Paul Revolution Mises Media Read two books Left and Right Cowen’s “Package Deal” The Movement

Theory of Knowledge
"Opposing" Oppositionalism Tectonic Ch Ch Ch Changes Logical Atomism and Truth Claims The Transitory Nature of Partisan Hacks Don't Quote Me on that... The Seen and the Unseen Theory and Consequences If a Tree Falls in the Woods…

Transpartisanship
Mob Mentality in the Ron Paul Revolution? Agreeing with Jonah Goldberg -- Twice! Ron Paul supporter spreading democracy from Iraq Polarized Too Extreme

Very Silly
Jeanne Dixon, Russia v. Georgia, China, the CIA and Global Warming Rush's Deal Environmentally Friendly Bombs Love, A is A style Firefly is returning Miss Bimbo isn't Shakespeare Hillary the Robot (at SOTU) For the Children Good enough for government work I Know An Old Lady... Brave New World Update What's in a name? Anti-Terror Extortion? Greatest Prank Ever The Purity of Being Broke? Ayn Rand Greeting Cards Achewood on Hating America and Anarchy

War on Drugs
Are you going to arrest me, Governor Romney? State Medical Marijuana Laws Under Attack in New Mexico The Right Kind of Flip-Flopping 55 Years for Weed?

War on Terror
Who will watch the Watch List Orwell update Hornberger Takes on the Wall Street Journal Dilbert Author Skewers Ahmadinejad Visit Panic (graphic language) Harry Potter's alright, but make mine Buffy Bush Backs Down on Torture If Big Brother can make it there... Terror debate Ron Paul-Giuliani Exchange on War Ron Paul Stands Up for Reality in Republican Debate Pentagon Lies Exposed Today Peace Movement Must Take on AIPAC Is Cheney Living in an Alternate Universe? Orwell update The Case Against War 4 Terror Plots Thwarted? The Feingold Option Can Congress Stop the War? Ahmadinejad and Bush: Something in Common 90% of Iraqis "We Were Better off Under Saddam" Libertarian Warmongers? The Lessons of Vietnam? Hint for Democrats: Protect Whistleblowers Pat Tillman's Birthday Keith Olbermann It is happening here 9--11 and cult of the omnipotent state Osama bin Laden as Cultural Icon The importance of foreign policy More on Israel's Aggression in Lebanon What is going on in Lebanon/Israel? Prominent Neo-Con: Suspend Constitution! The WTC Memorial and Admissions Fees Ann Coulter is insane The Truth Will get you in Trouble Cartoon Violence Conspiracy Theory Conspiracies McCain on Torture

Update on social security

It appears that the Bush Administration may throw in the towel on "personal accounts" as a means to reform social security. While personal accounts had some appeal, the plan seemed far too grandiose, IMO. It relied on complex formulas and an understanding of financial markets that escapes most.

The Journal editorial linked outlines the notion of "progressive indexing," which may solve the looming fiscal crunch in social security. Nothing there troubles me. It does make social security more like a welfare program, yes, but then, it always has been a welfare program.

But the Bushies should not throw in the towel on shifting to private solutions over public ones. There's always been a more direct solution that's been overlooked. Expand IRAs. Take off the restrictions on those who have 401Ks. Make them exemptions, not just deductions. And raise the caps. If handled properly, IRAs make the "need" for social security less compelling for most.

-Robert Capozzi

Posted by Robert Capozzi on November 30, 2006 04:46 AM | Permalink

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