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Article: Social security doesn't work any more.(hidden tax system)(Security for the Twenty-First Century)
- Article from:
- The American Enterprise
- Article date:
- January 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 The American Enterprise, a national magazine of politics, business and culture (TEAmag.com). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Social Security system reminds us of Machiavelli's dictum that time is the mother of truth. An unsound institution may work at first, he said, but let a few generations pass, and its flaws will eventually reveal themselves. Social Security has been a deeply defective system from the start, but its problems were at first hidden from view by myths and misunderstandings, as well as by fortunate demographics.
The turning point came in 1977. Until then, Social Security was a free lunch on wheels. Every time Congress touched it--which was almost yearly--they increased benefits and expanded coverage, while the tax increases for the program went amazingly ...