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March 10, 2005

Compact Nonsense

In his USAToday column today, Robert B. Reich trots out an old canard about how Social Security is an “intergenerational compact.” What nonsense! To see why, we need to look at a definition of “compact.” (And it’s important to do so since those on the left constantly quibble over the definitions of “crisis” and “bankrupt.”) Merriam-Webster defines compact as “an agreement or covenant between two or more parties.” The definition implies that the two or more parties enter into the agreement freely. So, when did I, or anyone else, get to enter into the so-called “Social Security compact” freely? Last time I checked, I had no say in the matter—the money was forcibly drawn out of my very first paycheck. Call it an intergenerational government program. Call it an intergenerational forced payment. But don’t call it a compact. Reich, along with many others on the left, use terms like “intergenerational compact” to hoodwink us into believing that Social Security is a sacred trust handed down from one generation to the next. And since it is sacred, one risks sacrilege by changing it. Nice try Mr. Reich, but not even the Founding Fathers viewed the Constitution that way. When it comes down to it, Social Security is just another government program subject to the same democratic procedures that all government programs are. That means we can change it, reform it, or even get rid of it. If Mr. Reich wants something sacred, he can find it in church, not in my paycheck.

Posted by David Hogberg at March 10, 2005 4:41 PM | Print

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