http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15128-2004Dec20.htmlWhy do I think that the Social Security crisis -- "the crisis is now," President Bush said recently -- is the domestic version of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Could it be that I am hearing the same sense of false urgency? Could it be that the predicted insolvency of the Social Security system is something other than -- yes -- "a slam-dunk"? I wonder.
My cynicism -- like yours -- has been earned the hard way. George Bush has a charming tendency to make up his mind first and then seek the evidence for his decision. This is how he went about deciding to go to war in Iraq -- telling Don Rumsfeld to produce a war plan in the days right after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, even though there was no evidence Iraq was responsible. It did not matter. Bush wanted war with Iraq, Bush got it -- and now we're stuck with it.
Is it going to be the same with Social Security? No doubt something has to be done. Eventually the Social Security system is going to start paying out more money than it's taking in. But no one is really sure when that's going to be. As with Mark Twain's death, news of the Great Insolvency has been prematurely reported, with the date slowly receding as the amazing American economy keeps growing and pumping out funds. Still, sooner or later, the system has to be fixed.
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