Social Security Lessons

  Social Security turned 70 yesterday. And to almost everyone’s surprise, the nation’s most successful government program is still intact.

    Just a few months ago the conventional wisdom was that President Bush would get his way on Social Security. Instead, Mr. Bush’s privatization drive flopped so badly that the topic has almost disappeared from national discussion.

    But I’d like to revisit Social Security for a moment, because it’s important to remember what Mr. Bush tried to get away with.

    Meanwhile, the administration politicized the Social Security Administration and used taxpayer money to promote a partisan agenda. Social Security officials participated in what were in effect taxpayer-financed political rallies, from which skeptical members of the public were excluded.

    But the campaign for privatization provided an object lesson in how the administration sells its policies: by misrepresenting its goals, lying about the facts and abusing its control of government agencies. These were the same tactics used to sell both tax cuts and the Iraq war.

    Forewarned is forearmed: the real goals of reform won’t be as advertised, the administration will say things about the current system that aren’t true, and the Treasury Department will function in a purely partisan capacity.

For the complete article go to http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/081505O.shtml.