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Article: COUNTDOWN TO REFORM: The Great Social Security Debate.
- Article from:
- The Washington Monthly
- Article date:
- April 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Washington Monthly Company. 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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Giving Away the Farm
Why privatization won't solve Social Security's problems
SOCIAL SECURITY'S CRITICS MAKE MUCH OF the program's age. It is a relic of the New Deal, designed during a depressed era when people died younger, and trusted the market less, than they do today. And if you really want to make Social Security look dated, you point out that its basic blueprint comes from Otto yon Bismark. The implication of these historical references is perfectly clear: If we could reconstruct our retirement system from scratch, would it really be the same as the Social Security designed for dusty-faced Okies and spiked-helmeted Prussians? Brookings scholars ...