Krugman the optimist

NY Times uber liberal columnist Paul Krugman has an astonishing note today on his blog. All of us conservative chicken littles are wrong about Social Security. We should not worry so, says Krugman. In actuality, "Social Security’s financial problem is relatively minor. It doesn’t deserve the emphasis it receives from most pundits."

How can one comfortably claim that a program that "owes $6.5 trillion more in benefits than it will receive in taxes" is facing a "minor" financial problem? Well, if you are a liberal NY Times columnist who from the start has been in favor of a sweeping redistribution of wealth then I suppose it is relatively easy.

Ah the joys of being able to pass one generation's debts off to the next...

Romney on Social Security Reform

There is a fascinating post over at Ground Game about the unidentified voice that was heard after Tim Russert asked Mitt Romney how he would save Social Security.

During last night's debate, Mitt Romney was asked if he would emulate Ronald Reagan's 1983 Social Security reforms. As the question was being asked, viewers could hear an unidentified voice whispering, "raise taxes." Was it a MSNBC producer accidentally speaking over the air? A Romney surrogate tipping the candidate toward his answer? Seems a bit paranoid, but that hasn't stopped bloggers from discussing. Maybe it was the box on President Bush's back from the 2004 debate? Listen and watch for yourself:

Setting aside the conspiracy theories, I thought Romney's answer was pretty good on its substance. Taxes should not be raised and personal savings should be allowed. Romney left the door open to increasing the retirement age and to benefit cuts for those with higher incomes. Hopefully he wouldn't pursue a "comprehensive" fix like President did, which ultimately failed under its own weight. Social Security is a major problem that may need to be solved in stages. The first step should be to stop the raid on the Social Security trust fund and allow Americans to save a portion of their taxes in personal retirement accounts. Congress shouldn't be allowed to steal this money for spending on other government programs.