From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!hplabsb!soreff
Newsgroups: net.politics
Title: Re: Social Security - (nf)
Article-I.D.: hplabsb.1305
Posted: Sat Jan 22 13:18:18 1983
Received: Mon Jan 24 05:17:44 1983
References: ihlpb.259

I think that the current system should be altered to make it actuarially
sound, but that adding a "need" criterion would be a bad idea. I suspect
if enough need based criteria were added to social security then the
middle class would wind up paying into it but not getting any return
from it. This may present more of a problem in keeping social security
viable then in keeping most transfer programs viable because a lot of
the non-humanitarian arguments in favor of other transfer programs do
not apply to social security. A lot of welfare programs, for instance,
are partly justified because they keep the inner cities calmer then
they would otherwise be. I suspect that the hazard from rioting low
income retirees is not sufficient to help maintain a transfer payment
system. Another argument that applies to some programs such as student
loans and other educational programs (and, to some extent, aid to families
with dependent children) and job training programs etc. is that they are
really investments in human capital, on which the entire society can
expect some returns when the immediate beneficiarys leave the program.
As the typical retiree leaves retirement by expiring, human capital
formation arguments don't really apply. Personally, I don't really
expect social security to be there when I retire, simply for actuarial
reasons. It is going to be hard to provide for the retirement of baby
boom people no matter what happens. I DO have a stake in seeing the
system assist my parents' retirement. A needs test added to the system
would remove that stake in it for me, and probably for many others.
			-Jeffrey Soreff (hplabsb!soreff)