Ownership Society
By Michael P. Tremoglie (02/01/05)
During his term in office, President Clinton declared Social Security a “ looming crisis.” Recently he said that not reforming Social Security was something he regretted.
Yet, Democrat Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said there is no Social Security crisis today. He said this despite the fact that a bipartisan commission appointed by President Bush in 2001, which included liberal Democratic Senator Patrick Moynihan, said something must be done to reform the Social Security system soon. The commission determined that participants should invest a portion of Social Security funds in private accounts.
Unfortunately, the campaign to reform Social Security is being obfuscated by partisan politics. Democrats - and their media myrmidons - who want to maintain the status quo, are denying there is a crisis. They claim this is nothing more than hyperbole.
Liberal pundit David Broder, who wrote in 1998 that Social Security was at a crisis stage, now repeats the Democrat mantra that Social Security is fine. Other mainstream journalists, like Knight Ridder’s Larry Eichel, make oxymoronic statements such as, “The system is not about to run out of money …. though, there will come a time when Social Security won't be able to pay all that has been promised.” [1]
The liberal fanatics at MoveOn.org, proclaim, “Social Security is the crown jewel of progressive government.” Apparently, Social Security’s value is not how it benefits people, it is how it promotes an ideology.
Even the American Association of Retired People (AARP), a purportedly nonpartisan group, is politicizing the issue.
Factcheck.org, the nonpartisan organization affiliated with the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, provides a perfect example of this. Factcheck’s mission is to “monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads…” Recently they evaluated the validity of AARP’s advertisement about Social Security reform. According to Factcheck.org the AARP ad is misleading.
The ad states, "winners and losers are stock market terms. Do you really want them to become retirement terms?" However, Factcheck said, “ the ad used a misleading photograph…. Instead of stock traders, the photo shows a wild trading pit and a board listing ‘cocoa,’ ‘sugar,’ ‘coffee’ and other commodities. But none of the options under consideration would allow owners of private Social Security accounts to speculate in commodities, which are notoriously volatile and risky. The kinds of ideas under discussion all call for accounts to be invested in broadly diversified stock and bond funds. There's a big difference.”
Given such partisan disinformation campaigns, how does one evaluate which plan will reform the current system. The answer may be found with an economic graph developed by Let Freedom Ring Inc. (LFR) a Philadelphia area nonprofit organization.
LFR’s mission is to “promote a positive political philosophy… (of) Constitutional principles, economic freedom and traditional values.” It has developed a chart to help the public comprehend the financial effects of various complex proposals for reforming Social Security and its affect on the Trust Fund. The graph “ plots the cash flow impact of any Social Security proposal.”
They call this representation the “Templeton Curve,” after Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr, the son of the legendary Sir John Templeton, the founder of the Templeton Fund one of the most profitable mutual funds ever created. Dr. Templeton is President of the Templeton Foundation and the Chairman of Let Freedom Ring, Inc.
The Templeton Curve illustrates the effects of the various and complex Social Security reform proposals. It is derived from the cash flow analysis of the financial effects studies performed by the Office of the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration. According to LFR, “From a public-policy standpoint, the best thing about the Templeton Curve is that it puts the matter of transition costs into an understandable perspective.”
Two evaluations of current reform proposals, Ryan-Sununu and Kolbe-Stenholme are posted to LFR’s website - www.letfreedomring.com. The graphs are a predictive mathematical model of these policy proposals. They provide people with a comparative illustration to understand the effects the proposals for the public.
The Templeton Curve empowers the public - not the politicians. This dovetails with the concept of an ownership society - which President Bush mentioned during his Inauguration speech - where citizens are not dependent on the whims of politicians and bureaucrats.
Utilization of the Templeton Curve will make citizens more informed. An informed citizenry can properly evaluate and select the appropriate vehicle to reform Social Security.
As Jefferson said, an informed public is essential to a democracy.
[1] http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/2005/01/09/news/special_packages/sunday_review/10604676.htm ret fm w/s 1-24-05
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