[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: Generational warfare

[Paul Etxeberri]

>
>Generational warfare
>
>By Ben Hubbard  |  January 14, 2005
><http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/01/14/generational_warfare/>
>The Boston Globe
>
>IF THERE'S one voice conspicuously absent in the debate
>over replacing Social Security with private investment
>accounts, it is young people -- the ones with the most
>to lose.
>
>Young people don't typically share a strong interest in
>issues like Social Security -- issues best discussed
>with two aspirin and a glass of water -- but the absence
>of young voices is peculiar. Listen to any argument for
>privatization and one thing is clear -- it's all in the
>name of young Americans.
>
>In a recently leaked White House memorandum, a top aide
>to Karl Rove, Peter Wehner, outlined the president's
>initial plan to privatize Social Security. The memo ends
>with a warning to his conservative colleagues: It is
>their "responsibility" and "duty" to ensure that they
>"do not create an inter-generational conflict."
>Retaining strong ties between the generations, Wehner
>writes, is "a deeply conservative belief."
>
>But, in fact, this administration's record reflects a
>deep disregard for the interests of young Americans.
>
>Recently, new federal rules eliminated Pell Grants for
>nearly 90,000 students nationwide and cut financial aid
>for an additional 1.2 million students. This even as
>family incomes keep falling and school tuitions keep
>rising.
>
>As for creating strong ties between generations, this
>administration has harnessed every American under the
>age of 30 to an enormous national debt -- much of it
>accumulated in order to give tax breaks to the ultra-
>rich. And remember, young people are one of the largest
>and fastest-growing groups without health insurance.
>They will breathe dirtier air, inherit degraded public
>lands and national parks, and bear the burdens of our
>continued dependence on foreign oil -- all thanks to
>policies advanced by this administration. And don't
>forget the Iraq war, where thousands of young people are
>fighting and dying far from their families.
>
>Despite these policies, young Americans are susceptible
>to the privatization argument. Conservatives point to
>polls showing young workers are willing to consider an
>experiment with private accounts. Given the misleading
>scare campaign designed to convince young workers of a
>cataclysmic crisis, the polls aren't surprising.
>
>Once you get past the hype and scare, though, Social
>Security privatization is an empty promise. The issue is
>complex, but young people trying to decide where they
>stand on it ought to remember three things.
>
>First, the system is not in crisis. The amount of money
>needed to make Social Security solvent into the next
>century is less than what we're spending each year
>fighting in Iraq. That amount is equal to about 20
>percent of the revenue lost each year because of the
>president's tax cuts. In other words, if we repeal some
>of the tax breaks given to the richest Americans since
>2001, we could easily shore up Social Security.
>
>Second, transitioning to private accounts will cost
>approximately $2 trillion without doing anything to
>improve Social Security's long-term finances. Since the
>government is already running a record deficit, that
>extra money must come from cutting federal spending,
>raising taxes, or borrowing more. There's little room to
>cut spending -- unless they cut more programs like
>college aid. But after four years of slashing taxes, the
>president isn't likely to raise taxes for any reason.
>This leaves just one option: more borrowing and more
>debt for young Americans.
>
>Worse still, Wehner's internal memo makes it clear that
>privatization won't solve the Social Security problem.
>In addition to trillions in transition costs, the
>president's plan will include drastic cuts in benefits
>for future retirees -- today's young people. Without
>these cuts, he writes, "we'll face serious economic
>risks."
>
>Third, with no changes to the current system, workers
>can expect higher benefits from Social Security than
>from a system of private investment accounts, according
>to a study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget
>Office. That means today's twenty-somethings will be
>better off when they retire even if nothing is done to
>"fix" Social Security.
>
>Private investment accounts are a tempting idea for
>young people, and conservatives know it. But just like
>much of this administration's ideological agenda,
>support for privatization rests on fear mongering,
>flawed economic assumptions, and a willingness to put
>faith in "the market" above facts and ahead of fiscal
>responsibility.
>
>Wehner says standing up for young workers is a "deeply
>conservative belief," but judging by this
>administration's record, that's code for "politically
>expedient." There's nothing "conservative" about
>launching a preemptive war in Iraq based on false
>assertions and letting young Americans do the fighting
>and dying. There's nothing "conservative" about reducing
>aid to needy students hoping to attend college or vastly
>increasing the deficit in order to give tax breaks to
>the wealthy, sticking young people with the bill.
>
>This administration has demonstrated over and over its
>willingness to put ideological purity, political
>loyalty, and the profits of its corporate patrons above
>the broad public interest. Why should young people
>believe that its risky Social Security privatization
>scheme would be any different?
>
>Ben Hubbard is campus programs director at the Center
>for American Progress.
>
>(c) Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
>
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand