McArdle: “Social Security expansion would hasten fiscal disaster”

Bloomberg View columnist Megan McArdle writes about proposals to expand Social Security benefits.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Americans are underprepared for retirement. And given this sad fact, there’s a growing movement on the left saying we need a government solution, stat: specifically, an expansion of Social Security benefits.

Perhaps you are confused. Weren’t we just talking about entitlement reform so that we could spend less on the program? Why, yes, we were. But since no one, left or right, really wants to take on our vast army of retirees, that chatter has died down. Now that it has, progressives have decided that the best defense is a good offense. Instead of reluctantly agreeing to a compromise where Republicans let some taxes rise and Democrats agree to entitlement cuts, they’re demanding bigger tax hikes to fund bigger entitlements. At the core of their argument is a good point: Americans really do need more money for retirement. But missing is a realistic discussion of where that money might come from.

Worth reading.