gLibertarians are dumb

Thanks to alert reader Seth for sending along this Social Security vs. Madoff summary from Fortune (via CNN). Michael Zuckoff does a good job of keeping it simple, and at the same time blowing up the gLibertarian memes about Social Security (one of the government programs that actually does work as intended) flitting about the web these days. To wit:

Third, Social Security is morally the polar opposite of a Ponzi scheme and fundamentally different from what Madoff allegedly did. At the height of the Great Depression, our society (see "Social") resolved to create a safety net (see "Security") in the form of a social insurance policy that would pay modest benefits to retirees, the disabled and the survivors of deceased workers. By design, that means a certain amount of wealth transfer, with richer workers subsidizing poorer ones. That might rankle, but it's not fraud.

That $800 or so per month many retirees receive is quite often the bit that keeps them from falling into poverty. If social security keeps even 10% of its recipients from that fate, then it is an absolute bargain for all Americans.

Just remember that the next time you hear a Corporatist say Social Security should be privatized (how would that have gone over this autumn, eh?) or a gLibertarian say it should be done away with all-together.

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