Daniel Gross Loves a Free Lunch

Rather than go on and on about the nonsense that emanates from the free lunch proponents of Social Security privatization – or those free lunch supply-side wingnuts who argue “giving people their money back” so they consume more somehow increases economic growth – let me simply outsource this task to Daniel Gross:

How dumb are the free-lunchers? In today’s Wall Street Journal, Jackie Calmes has a piece about the two South Carolina Senators’ different attitudes toward Social Security reform. Lindsey Graham, the state’s senior senator, is a representative of the “pain caucus.” He advocates cutting benefits and raising payroll taxes to ensure solvency. (In other words, he advocates solving the problem honestly.) Sen. Jim DeMint, a freshman Senator, is held out as a representative of the “free lunch caucus.” His solution? Don’t cut benefits. Instead, as the Journal’s handy thumbnail sketch puts it: “use remaining Social security annual surplus, to 2017, for private accounts. Cut other government spending to offset the diverted payroll-tax revenue.” Add water, and wait ten years.

Daniel follows by challenging the GOP to follow through with the necessary spending cuts. Maybe I should buy Daniel lunch tomorrow for writing such a very good post!