Obama's biggest problem is his advisors, who are still part of the same old cadre that got us into this mess in the first place, and they are in denial.
Galbraith has some good historical background, and his solutions are good. Social Security and Medicare should NOT be cut but strengthened, for starters:
We should offset the violent drop in the wealth of the elderly population as a whole. The squeeze on the elderly has been little noted so far, but it hits in three separate ways: through the fall in the stock market; through the collapse of home values; and through the drop in interest rates, which reduces interest income on accumulated cash. For an increasing number of the elderly, Social Security and Medicare wealth are all they have.
That means that the entitlement reformers have it backward: instead of cutting Social Security benefits, we should increase them, especially for those at the bottom of the benefit scale. Indeed, in this crisis, precisely because it is universal and efficient, Social Security is an economic recovery ace in the hole. Increasing benefits is a simple, direct, progressive, and highly efficient way to prevent poverty and sustain purchasing power for this vulnerable population. I would also argue for lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare to (say) fifty-five, to permit workers to retire earlier and to free firms from the burden of managing health plans for older workers.
Let me tell you, at 54 I would take Medicare at 55 in a heartbeat.
Of course tax policy needs to be changed where the very wealthiest and corporations pay FAR more than they do now. Changing it would go a long way in reversing the disastrous path this country is now on.
And just what about this current global meltdown? Is Wall Street using all of the bailout money to stage a revolution of sorts?
And if this is true then we really are truly fucked.
No comments:
Post a Comment