random rants and references

I hadn't thought of casting the issue that way until reading Pete du Pont's challenging editorial in today's WSJ Opinion Journal, online at OpinionJournal - Outside the Box . This editorial strikes me as making the same basic point as a comment on my SS Rejuvenation post by Paul, who chided me for being too 'political' and not hitting the obvious paternalism of 'Personal Accounts' opponents who want the government to make retirement money decisions for people instead of giving us the choice of making our own decisions. Interestingly, it turns out Paul is a young law student who sees the same key point as Mr. du Pont, a very successful lawyer and politician. Maybe they are right about what really divides the pro and con sides of the 'Personal Accounts' debate : that is all about socialism versus individualism. Read the whole thing for yourself and decide.

By the way, the du Pont article also has a very concise summary of Social Security fundamentals and the prime solutions under discussion. I think he makes a clear case for personal accounts while dealing directly with the contradictions in the positions of some unions and AARP.