The Front-Runner Reduction

The, or maybe a, front-runner in the Republican Party has come forth with the “solution” to Medicare and Social Security. Well, at least yet another regurgitation of a solution re-packaged and re-advertised as the path to salvation. Is it a solution? There is really only one way to tell, and let’s be serious it is not by listening to the politicians. Neither group appears to have a clue nor more pointedly neither side has demonstrated that they understand the cause-effect of the system they created, fund, manage, and (God, I hate to say this) are responsible for finding a way to secure. Our front-runner is going to use his business acumen to save us all from the folly of the past.

How does this comparatively (relative to his competition) mental giant propose to perform this miraculous feat? He is going to reduce the cost of the system of course. Is this just his easy solutions to incredibly complex problems; or just a good sounding ‘sound-bite’ for a catastrophically stupid plan? Given he is a politician the statistical bet would surely have to go to the less desirable option. Now don’t get me wrong, none of his compatriots have any better idea, and none from the Democratic party has shown any more insight or comprehension of the problems than he has. But really, the solution that we are going to be asked to vote for and then swallow is another idiotic and ill-conceived approach to addressing the problem.

The merits of the plan, more the faults actually, are: he is going to gradually raise the age of retirement. He is going to let participants choose to stay with Medicare or use a government-support voucher to purchase a plan from the market. Medicaid funding responsibility would transfer from the federal government to state governments. Federal spending would be capped at 20% of GDP, and he would cut spending by some amount. Well these certainly solve the problems, right? I mean you can judge the quality and level of intelligence represented by his and most Republicans reading from their nationally approved play-book. The Democrats are no better being equally incapable of seeing and taking the eight-lane freeway out of the disaster area and instead insisting that the steep ascent through the mountain path at the start of winter is a safe route.

Raising the age of retirement on Social Security – this eliminates more recipients so that will lower costs. The elimination is obvious right; nothing more needs to be said on that. This is similar to paying more if you retire later, which we do today. We could stop COLA that would work also. These are the same old methods that have been used over and over. Takes a real brainy type to think of these now doesn’t it. “Same old, same old.”

Now using Government supported vouchers (or any marketing researched advertising terms that polls well with the public) will certainly reduce the costs of the Medicare. Because instead of running a big government bureaucracy, the plan that solves the problem will be to have the government run just a large bureaucracy and also pay insurance companies to make up the difference. Once again, let’s not see the obvious solution that Americans have been taught over each generation will solve the problem; let’s go with a politician’s approach to diddling the public.

And think how much less it will cost when we transfer the cost of and responsibility for Medicaid from the federal government to state governments. The states will have two basic choices, the same ones the federal government has, pay the bills for what is covered or cut what is covered/delivered. It’s not likely the states will see the efficient approach that reduces costs, improves coverage, and help the economy.

And capping federal expenditures to 20% of GDP is just another way to say, I don’t know how to solve the real problem but surely if we reduce the value delivered and the benefits provided and cut more and more the problem will be solved. The consequences of the approach are not reflected in this approach, but yes it is true that if you spend less money you will in fact spend less money. I think I learned that in some elementary school math class, probably around third or fourth grade or even earlier. Why cap it as the method, why not have it reduce itself as the consequence of a smart plan? I guess he/they haven’t thought of that.

If you want to solve the health-care and safety-net problems in America, you should look to someone who can present a plan that doesn’t just do less, shift costs, pretend to provide a difference, and more importantly addresses the underlying dynamics of the cost causing principles that the currently flawed policies and plans are based upon.

Have you seen any politician who has shown even the slightest indication that are even modestly intelligent, let alone smart enough to trust with setting the direction for the nation on any of these issues?  Perhaps what we need here is another ‘stupor’ committee to produce a bipartisan plan.

The Government’s Plastic Just Went Bad

Flash! The Social Security System has returned to a net losing operation.

And more importantly: Congratulations! to the American public for being historically stupid and self-deceived. For a society that consistently professes to not like, trust, or expect anything good from politicians the American people appear to be incapable of acting in their own interests. Americans deceive themselves into thinking that the political party of which they are a member consists of politicians who miraculously are the only ones who can be trusted and relied upon. It doesn’t matter which party it is, their members are delusional morons. There is some evidence that gradually more and more people are breaking through this delusional disorder and recognizing the necessity of seeing these societal parasites as the unhealthy drains on our country that they are. But when the election seasons return, these independents massively select their choice from the classic ‘lesser of two evils’ and vote for one or the other major party candidates. So as a result of this failure on the part of the public we are left with nothing but Governmental failures and the privilege of paying the bill for the corrupt, self-serving and wasteful programs and policies that serve their interests but not the American public’s interests.

One monumental example of their failure and our imbecilic passive acceptance of their incompetence is the Social Security System. As you read this, the Social Security administration is running the program in the red. They are paying out more monetary value than they are bringing in. This would be fine, if they had reserves to draw upon that came from the current recipients, but they do not. So every day now, the Social Security administration is calling in IOUs for the funds that they collected from the American working population, but then turned around and loaned to the Federal Government for other budget items. This happened before, about thirty years ago; and politicians of that day stood up and did exactly the wrong thing. They did what politicians always do, they lied to the public and told them that they were going to solve the problem. And they did solve their problem, which was doing something that made the real problem move out in time and become our problem, only bigger. And as part of that sleight-of-hand they raised the Social Security rate (tax) on everyone but mostly on the 90% of the population that earns middle and low incomes; and to add insult to injury they raised the age of retirement.

So let’s keep trusting the Republican and Democratic parties, because they are sure looking out for us.