Thursday, March 23, 2006

The Conservative Right Strikes Again

We have all seen the dire projections that demonstrate clearly that if we are to proceed with Business as Usual we have nothing to look forward to besides massive amounts of red ink as far as the eye can see. The expected shortfall is not limited to Social Security but the real big problem is the future cost of the Medicare/Medicaid complex. Add on top of that the cost of welfare and then you start to get an idea about the extent of the deficits that our current entitlements will subject us to in the not so distant future.

Charles Murray a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the co author of the very controversial The Bell Curve has done it again. His new book “In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State” argues, obviously from a conservative perspective that we can eliminate poverty and reduce the size of governmental bureaucracy and enhance economic efficiency if we would eliminate all cash program payments at all levels of government; Federal, State and local.

Under this proposal there will no longer be any social security system or mecicare/medicaid or even welfare payments. The plan suggests replacing all of the above in addition to a few other subsidies with a single annual payment of $10,000.00 to each and every US citizen as of the time they turn 21 years old. His projections show that in the early years of this plan the deficit will expand but then will start to shrink and in short order generate a surplus. If this plan sounds too good to be true that is only because it is

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe its to good to be true. You figure soon or later the goverment will be no longer avaible to give out social security. Its just a mtter of time

Anonymous said...

I believe this theory of eliminating medicaid/medicare and just providing people 21 & over $10,000 is not efficient for the needs of all the people. Some people need more medical attention than others, especially the elderly. It seems like a good idea, however it must be adjustable to the needs of the people. The elderly and the chronically sick make up a large portion of the U.S. population, they must be considered as well.

Anonymous said...

Also, not everyone in the United States is a citizen. Many immigrants will be left without any financial help if they need medical attention. The U.S. also has a significant number of immigrants who are not citizens and they can not be left out either.