I would take it a step further. Recently Robert not-Paul Samuelson had a screed in the Post lambasting social insurance as welfare for the profound reason that it entailed some people paying taxes that went in payments to others. Besides motivating social insurance as insurance, we ought to motivate "welfare" or public assistance as social insurance too. In its anti-poverty role, SS in fact is not a whole lot different from "welfare," but this says more about welfare than SS.
mbs -----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Joel Blau Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 2:00 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Subject: Re: bush & SS That's an interesting question. My initial response is that we should use the word. But the problem is that its use privileges some government spending (for all who meet the eligibility standards regardless of the government's fiscal condition) over others, i.e. discretionary. If the goal is the validation of all social needs, then such a distinction is invidious. Joel Blau Eugene Coyle wrote: > Language? What does use of the word "entitlements" imply? What do I > infer when reading it? What do normal people infer when hearing it? Is > it a word we should use? > > Gene Coyle > > Max B. Sawicky wrote: > >> Speaking of which, our old friend Dean Baker >> has the honor of being criticized by name in >> a Washington Post editorial today, after being >> praised yesterday in a David Broder column, >> all for elaborating on the theme that the >> prospective SS deficits (sic) are small >> compared to that of Medicare. >> >> The positive impact is to discredit the Bushists' >> SS crisis rhetoric. The negative is to encourage >> consideration of how to whack Medicare. I used >> some of the same points to make clear the inevitability >> of significant but feasible tax increases to fund the >> growth of entitlements. >> >> Every time I write a budget paper, a post-Keynesian >> writes me to say who needs taxes, why can't the debt/GDP >> ratio go up to 60-70%? I told him, I don't know why not, >> but you don't know why. >> >> mbs >> >> >> >
