Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Drunk, insane, dishonest, or stupid?

You make the call, but leading inside-the-Beltway tax-cutting cheerleader Stephen Moore has got to be one or more of the above.
In his Washington Times column from yesterday, Moore urges President Bush to keep on fighting for large individual accounts in Social Security, funded by diverting payroll taxes. Only, Republicans must "stop talking about benefit cuts in the future" to make up for the new goodie.
Moore says: "It is said creating private investment accounts will cost $2 trillion, but they will save $10 trillion in later years. Wouldn't most Americans invest $2 now to get $10 back in 20 years?"
Wait a second there, Steverino. How exactly do we save $10 trillion in 20 years if there are no benefit cuts? Doesn't no benefit cuts mean, by definition, that we save zero?
Ah, but there is an answer. Moore opposes, not benefit cuts, but talking about benefit cuts.
One more question, Stevester. How exactly do we cut benefits, and indeed by $10 trillion within 20 years, if we can't even talk about it today?

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