Not just socially insecure; we're socially retarded

Aside from the fact that the President announced yet another way to enshrine wealth as a legacy (pass on the money in your account? Jefferson, what?), it appears that all this "you get to keep it all for yourself, the no good government has to keep its dirty hands off" stuff just isn't true at all. An article in today's Post runs through the plan as described by another headless horseman ("senior administration official"). This is a very good article on what the changes would actually look like.

The Numbers:

Under the system, the gains may be minimal. The Social Security Administration, in projecting benefits under a partially privatized system, assumes a 4.6 percent rate of return above inflation. The Congressional Budget Office, Capitol Hill's official scorekeeper, assumes 3.3 percent gains.

The Catch:

[Under the convoluted rules of the new plan (read the article for more),] with a 4.6 percent average gain over inflation, the government keeps more than 70 percent. With the CBO's 3.3 percent rate, the worker is left with nothing but the guaranteed benefit.

The really scary part:

If instead, workers decide to stay in the traditional system, they would receive the benefit that Social Security could pay out of payroll taxes still flowing into the system, the official said. Which option would be best is still unclear because the White House has yet to propose how severely guaranteed benefits would be cut for those with individual accounts.

This creates the same problem as Health Savings Accounts: young (mostly healthy) people move out of these programs, leaving the chronically ill or chronically poor to fend for themselves in a program who's coffers have run dry and they bear the burden of risk, even though they are already among the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Paul Krugman had a great Op-Ed about why the math is wrong. There's an inconsistency in the numbers he uses and the ones the Post article use (he says the SSA uses a 6.5 or 7% return above inflation number, and the Weisman article says 4.6. Honestly, I don't have the faintest which is right), but article itself is good. To summarize: All evidence points to the fact that partially privatizing Social Security appears to offer no discernable benefit above and beyond the current program, while greatly increasing risk, to the tune of a trillion dollars. If the economy continues growing with no contractions, it might offer a slight bonus to some. Even in this rosy happy land of money tree orchards, the government is still going to be taking a huge chunk of the gain away. And -- voila! --


p.s.: Anyone else see Dick Chaney lose it last night during the state of the union, when Bush said that the Administration was "open to all suggestions" about how to fix social security? He started laughing so hard he had to move his head off camera. I mean, please.

Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

This is just motherf*cking crazy:

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30." Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

Joe Lewis is buried at Arlington!?