Yep. This is "one of the countries heard from" in the practical political "triangulation" of the privatization of social security. You can be sure that Milton and Rose have their own privatization plan. I'm sure they would be happy to share it with everyone.
There was some mention here of Michael Kingsley(sp) the pencil necked geek with the pallor who for years played a leftist on TV---his article in last Sundays Plain Dealer came off like Social Security is a ponzi scheme.
Meanwhile, Oberlin's own hindsteiner Bob Kuttner is confusing the issue with his support of the Clinton privatization plan.
Your email pal,
Tom L.
Carl Remick wrote:
> Back on December 11, I posted: "Well, if nothing else, actively
> promoting the idea that privatization of Social Security *could* be 'a
> backdoor way of socializing the economy' might be the best way of
> scaring the bejeebers out of the right and stopping privatization in its
> tracks."
>
> We got some thunder on the right of this nature today, with Milton
> Friedman offering a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled, "Social Security
> Socialism."
>
> The no-bull Nobelist states: "I have often speculated that an ingenious
> way for a socialist to achieve his objective in the U.S. would be to
> persuade Congress, in the name of fiscal responsibility, to (1) fully
> fund obligations under Social Security, and (2) invest the accumulated
> reserves in the private-capital market by purchasing equity interests in
> domestic corporations....
>
> "Suppose the president's [i.e., Clinton's] proposed policy had been
> followed in its most extreme form from the outset of Social Security in
> 1937, i.e., that the whole excess of Social Security tax receipts over
> Social Security benefits payments ... had been invested in the stock
> market.... [T]he trust fund at the end of 1997 would have totaled ...
> approximately $7 trillion. In that case, the Social Security trust fund
> would own more than half of all domestic corporations! To return to my
> socialist fantasy, full funding would long since have brought complete
> socialism."
>
> A fantasy which, as the redoubtable Milt avers, is truly a nightmare:
> "Have we not learned from the experience of the past century that
> private property is the key bulwark of personal freedom?" Over to you,
> Gen. Pinochet ...
>
> Carl Remick