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Now I realize Robert Reich is not an economist on the level of Hannity or Beck, but it sounds like he might have a couple of points here:

Budget Baloney: Why Social Security Isn't a Problem for 26 Years, and the Best Way to Fix It Permanently
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential hopeful, says in order to "save" Social Security the retirement age should be raised. The media are congratulating him for his putative "courage." Deficit hawks are proclaiming Social Security one of the big entitlements that has to be cut in order to reduce the budget deficit.

This is all baloney.

In a former life I was a trustee of the Social Security trust fund. So let me set the record straight.

Social Security isn't responsible for the federal deficit. Just the opposite. Until last year Social Security took in more payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits. It lent the surpluses to the rest of the government.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-re ... 24331.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Actually, Reich isn't an economist at all. He calls himself a "political economist" because he studied politics and economics for a year as a Rhodes scholar. He's a lawyer. That's all.

Anyway, he seems perfectly willing to ignore demographic realities that will make SS insolvent. Real economists don't do that.

Real economists make astrologers look good.

It's a shame that when the Dem's controlled congress for 40 years that they decided to steal the SS money and put in those IOU's.

Also a shame that younger Americans will have to wait longer and pay more to make up for the dem thieves.

Here's Ed Schultz on the subject

---

The MSNBC Ed (Schultz) Show
MSNBC/The Ed Schultz ^ | 1/27/2011 | Ed Schultz

('Republicans want Wall Street to get the $2.6 trillion SS surplus')

ED SCHULTZ : But this is the story that starts us off tonight here on our program. Republicans, what they want to do is get their hands on your kids (Social Security) money to line the pockets of their donors on Wall Street.
Don‘t let them fool you again, folks. The Grand Old Party is on a mission to destroy the New Deal and open the flood gates of your (social security) money for the select few on Wall Street. That‘s the plan. …….…

There‘s no daylight between the new speaker and the suits on Wall Street—you can believe that—who have their eyes on the $2.6 trillion surplus in Social Security, that wonderful trust fund that the government‘s never failed on. Think about that. Wall Street would love to get their hands on $2.6 trillion (social security surplus) . Think anybody would make any money on that? Boehner doesn‘t want the American people to know that Social Security is financially sound. ……
BERNIE SANDERS: Massive amounts of misinformation and disinformation. The truth of the matter is, Social Security today has a $2.6 trillion surplus. Social Security can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 27 years, at which point it could pay out about 80 percent of all benefits.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...

houndawg wrote:Real economists make astrologers look good.

Thanks for adding substance to the discussion. Are you OSBF's alt?

Bronco wrote:It's a shame that when the Dem's controlled congress for 40 years that they decided to steal the SS money and put in those IOU's.

Also a shame that younger Americans will have to wait longer and pay more to make up for the dem thieves.

Here's Ed Schultz on the subject

---

The MSNBC Ed (Schultz) Show
MSNBC/The Ed Schultz ^ | 1/27/2011 | Ed Schultz

('Republicans want Wall Street to get the $2.6 trillion SS surplus')

ED SCHULTZ : But this is the story that starts us off tonight here on our program. Republicans, what they want to do is get their hands on your kids (Social Security) money to line the pockets of their donors on Wall Street.
Don‘t let them fool you again, folks. The Grand Old Party is on a mission to destroy the New Deal and open the flood gates of your (social security) money for the select few on Wall Street. That‘s the plan. …….…

There‘s no daylight between the new speaker and the suits on Wall Street—you can believe that—who have their eyes on the $2.6 trillion surplus in Social Security, that wonderful trust fund that the government‘s never failed on. Think about that. Wall Street would love to get their hands on $2.6 trillion (social security surplus) . Think anybody would make any money on that? Boehner doesn‘t want the American people to know that Social Security is financially sound. ……
BERNIE SANDERS: Massive amounts of misinformation and disinformation. The truth of the matter is, Social Security today has a $2.6 trillion surplus. Social Security can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 27 years, at which point it could pay out about 80 percent of all benefits.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...

"Ed shot his dog! Ed shot his dog!"

err...oops, sorry. Kind of a Pavlovian response for NDSU fans upon seeing Fast Eddie's name.

CitadelGrad wrote:

houndawg wrote:Real economists make astrologers look good.

Thanks for adding substance to the discussion. Are you OSBF's alt?

The path from your brain to your keyboard is apparently routed through the bile duct....


The opinions of real economists are a dime a dozen on any side of any economic question you want to choose.

houndawg wrote:Real economists make astrologers look good.

CitadelGrad wrote:Thanks for adding substance to the discussion. Are you OSBF's alt?

Most economists also don't have a good sense of humor....a Money, Credit and Banking course will do that to a person.