George Will, Scourge of Old Age

Prudent Bolshevik George Will goes for broke in his support for careless, malicious Social Security radicalism:

But surely it is prudent to assume the need, and reasonable to rejoice in the opportunity, to restructure a program that was designed during the Depression, when there was excessive pessimism about the prospects for American capitalism and there were more than 40 workers for every retiree.

The political problem is this: Even if the future were knowable and we knew that the Social Security solvency problem actually is smaller than Bush assumes, he would still favor reform involving personal accounts funded by a portion of payroll taxes. He believes such reform would be conducive to civic virtue, as conservatives understand that -- individualism, self-reliance, limited government.

Private accounts do mean self-reliance. Today, you can't outlive your Social Security benefits. With private accounts and long life spans, you are likely to do so. Soon it'll be time to get your bed-ridden, 98-year-old ass back into the work force.