tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334408760351487944.post3381781600969015462..comments2023-11-12T06:43:00.060-05:00Comments on Notes on Social Security Reform: Academy of Actuaries Praises Obama on Social Security, MedicareAndrew G. Biggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16617460431856611873noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334408760351487944.post-52875883114997484682009-02-18T11:17:00.000-05:002009-02-18T11:17:00.000-05:00I just saw Carl Rove saying that the Bush administ...I just saw Carl Rove saying that the Bush administration made a mistake by going after social security reform (and failing miserably) first, then going after immigration reform. He implied that if immigration reform would have been tackled first, it would have been successful, leading to a success in Social Security reform. What he still does not get is that the Social Security reforms talked about were nonsense, and I'm not sure that Obama and company have any that are better. Adding "fixes" to the system like raising the income cap only bring more money in the SS Trust Fund that is spend on other things. In other words, it makes the Trust Fund debt worse, not better. Social Security has been working fine. Unlike just about any other federal program it has been running a surplus for decades. "Fixing" Social Security should not even be on the A list for our new President. Taking it on early in his first year, I think would be a huge mistake, mainly because I don't think that there is a reform on the table that makes any sense. The 75-year projections for SS that make it "unsustainable" are nonsense. What other product is forecasted out 75 years? Gasoline? Bread? Peanut butter? Prices for motels? It would be ridiculous to to try to go out 75 years for any of those to make the case that one or more were "unsustainable." <BR/>President Obama should NOT go after Social Security reform in his first year. It was not a campaign pledge. It is not expected by those who voted for him. It would be a distraction brought on, mainly, by those who really want SS to fail, in my opinion.George Fulmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526607308186702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334408760351487944.post-61234776599927549472009-01-22T20:03:00.001-05:002009-01-22T20:03:00.001-05:00A good question, which I added to the main post. T...A good question, which I added to the main post. Thanks.Andrew G. Biggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16617460431856611873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334408760351487944.post-87495023231797409662009-01-22T20:03:00.000-05:002009-01-22T20:03:00.000-05:00A good question, which I added to the main post. T...A good question, which I added to the main post. Thanks.Andrew G. Biggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16617460431856611873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334408760351487944.post-14179654798659823152009-01-22T18:14:00.000-05:002009-01-22T18:14:00.000-05:00"While I'm not sure that addressing rising Medicar..."While I'm not sure that addressing rising Medicare spending requires wholesale changes to healthcare provision in general – a point I touched on here"<BR/><BR/>So you are suggesting the drivers of health care cost growth in general are different for the Medicare and non-Medicare population?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com