Don’t Know What You’ve Got Until It’s (Almost) Gone

One of the only things about Social Security that people on both sides of the argument can likely agree on is that much of the program remains a mystery to the American public (which is, of course, what the administration is counting on). To that end, I want to recommend Roger Lowenstein’s Jan. 16 article in the NY Times. It’s long, and you need to register to read it, but it’s well worth the effort. This is perhaps the best summary and analysis of the situation I’ve read, and it’s bolstered with some interesting history as well. Check this out:

[Social security’s] future was already very much in doubt. Conservatives claimed it would bankrupt the nation, and independent critics argued that the way it was financed amounted to ''financial hocus-pocus,'' as one editorial in The New York Times put it.

The year? 1938. The Social Security Act was three years old. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? They’re just as wrong now as they were then. The strength of Lowenstein’s article is in bringing Social Security to life—explaining exactly for what it is we’re fighting, and why it’s worth fighting for.

More on social security later…