So What is Rudy’s Social Security Plan?

Steve Benen catches Rudy Giuliani babbling some gibberish about Social Security:

Giuliani stressed his desire to have private forces shape the country’s economy in education as well as in health care and Social Security. He said he supported President Bush’s unsuccessful proposal to allow people to invest some of their Social Security taxes in private accounts. “I would have preferred, over my lifetime, if I could have invested some of that Social Security money myself,” said Giuliani, 63. “I think I would have done much better than the government did. I believe young people today, a lot of them feel that way. I think people who want a private option should be entitled to have it.” He said people who want traditional Social Security with no private accounts should be allowed to have that, too. And he allowed that the issue “is going to have to be compromised out” because Democrats who control Congress oppose it.

Does Giuliani wish he had put down a ton of funds into the S&P 500 a month ago? OK, the expected return to stocks may be higher than the risk-free rate but that’s only because of the risk premium. And I’m sure Giuliani balanced the expected return of his portfolio against the risks with all due consideration that his portion of the Social Security retirement fund was in risk-free government bonds. Most rational people do. Or is Giuliani as dumb as George W. Bush was falling for the Cato free lunch fallacy.

Steve thinks Giuliani is making a big political mistake by signing onto the Bush Social Security agenda:

Even the most sycophantic of Republicans quickly realized that Bush’s Social Security policy was poison to be avoided at all costs. Given the public’s response, a candidate would have to be a blithering fool to embrace a plan that everyone loathed.

OK, but is Giuliani any more clear on his Social Security stance than he is on his pro-choice chance. After all, he says he is for anti-Roe judges but he is also for a woman’s right to choose. And here, he is for the current system as well as what Bush wants. Confused as to where Rudy stands? I am. But then isn’t the whole point of his campaign – he’s for everything.