The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is planning a big celebration on June 8 for its 25th anniversary. There will be a dinner honoring Marty Ford, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Arc of the United States, Virginia P. Reno, Vice President for Income Security at the National Academy of Social Insurance, Wayne Vroman, Economist at The Urban Institute and James N. Ellenberger, President of the AFL-CIO Retirees Association.
NASI deserves to celebrate its anniversary and these fine folks certainly deserve to be honored but it is hard for someone who believes in the concept of Social Insurance to be in a celebratory mood at this point in our nation's history. The Social Security Administration's operating budget has been cut to the point that it is on a glide path to collapse. The whole concept of Social Insurance is under assault as never before. We are looking at serious Republican proposals to end Medicare, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. There are other proposals to dramatically cut Social Security and Unemployment Insurance benefits, almost certainly as a way station to ending them altogether. Many Republicans are pledging to do anything short of violence to achieve their ambitious agenda, including destroying the nation's credit.
The one thing that gives me hope is the conviction that Republican have greatly overreached and are bound for electoral disaster.
NASI deserves to celebrate its anniversary and these fine folks certainly deserve to be honored but it is hard for someone who believes in the concept of Social Insurance to be in a celebratory mood at this point in our nation's history. The Social Security Administration's operating budget has been cut to the point that it is on a glide path to collapse. The whole concept of Social Insurance is under assault as never before. We are looking at serious Republican proposals to end Medicare, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. There are other proposals to dramatically cut Social Security and Unemployment Insurance benefits, almost certainly as a way station to ending them altogether. Many Republicans are pledging to do anything short of violence to achieve their ambitious agenda, including destroying the nation's credit.
The one thing that gives me hope is the conviction that Republican have greatly overreached and are bound for electoral disaster.
I have traditionally voted Republican but they have indeed overreached and I will take this into consideration when I vote.
ReplyDeleteIn the short run SSA needs overtime back immediately.
In the long run SSA needs new people hired ASAP.
The problem here is that Medicaid and Medicare are profoundly dysfunctional in the sense that they are on a glide path to grow toward infinity.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Republicans and the Democrats have problems recognizing reality.
The question seems to be whether we are going to move toward a Single Payer system (medical care as utility, degredation in quality of care, physicans become plumbers) or a fully private insurance program (physicans as wealthy learned professionals, degredation in amount of care, physicans maintain high social status) with charties filling in the gaps.
The Status Quo is unsustainable because it's tending toward infinity.
Well, JP, then you must be a supporter of the new Health Care reform bill passed in the last session of Congress. Thanks for your support!
ReplyDeleteIt was the overreaching of Obama and the Democrats that resulted in their electoral disaster. We'll see who the voters think is the worst the next time around.
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