By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    photo of hands with blue veins
    8 Proven Tips on Finding Difficult Veins
    November 12, 2021
    tips for getting over the pandemic blues
    4 Proven Ways to Get Over the Pandemic Blues
    February 22, 2022
    medical industry innovations
    How is CNC Machining Transforming the Medical Industry?
    June 2, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    July 31, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    comparative negligence
    Not Knowing About Comparative Negligence Can Worsen Your Medical Debt
    April 12, 2023
    racial disparities in healthcare
    Why We Need to Address Racial Disparities in Maternal Health Care
    August 26, 2021
    Enhancing Pharmaceutical Patient Compliance & Drug Efficacy
    February 12, 2024
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?
Policy & Law

Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

In response to my prior post where I averred that cigarette companies were treated as scapego

In response to my prior post where I averred that cigarette companies were treated as scapegoats, I have had several cyber and actual conversations about personal responsibility. I believe that folks should realize the consequences and the benefits of freely made decisions. While we want American society to be compassionate, we do not want to punish success and reward failure. Our goal is to do all that we can to maximize everyone’s success. We should be ready to assist those who need and deserve our private and governmental assistance, but personal effort and responsibility are necessary elements of these interventions.

When we see patients who are in financial difficulty, my physician partners and staff will do all that we can to help them. While it is not our policy to do colonoscopies for free, we will make whatever adjustments are necessary to make sure that the patient receives colon cancer screening. However, when patients who owe us money hang up on our calls, or express their view of medical entitlement with foul language, then we forward these accounts to a collection agency.

There is also a self-interest angle to helping others. One day, we may need a boost ourselves.

More Read

bacteria
Are We Returning to a Life Before Penicillin?
Time Thieves
Were the Beatles Wrong About “When I Am Sixty-Four”?
How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care? Part 2 | Joseph C. Kvedar, Center for Connected Health
Clinical Medical Assistant Careers: Why You Should Consider It

In one of my post-scapegoat posts, I discussed the concept of privatizing social security, a sound proposal that was vilified and snuffed out during George W. Bush’s presidency. Antagonism against this modest proposal was seasoned with a large measure of arrogance, a splash of hubris and a dash of paternalism.

In summary, this proposal argued that if folks could manage a small portion of their social security money, which they earned themselves, that it could be a force that would reinforce and extend the program’s solvency. The political left turned white hot over the notion of the government transferring any responsibility for managing these retirement funds to the citizens who actually earned the money. Isn’t this preposterous? They predicted doomsday when our imbecilic citizenry, who were somehow smart and industrious enough to earn the money in the first place, would squander it all, vaporizing the last remaining safety net that would keep them afloat. Then, the lefties argued, the rest of us would have to rescue them at much greater expense.

Their argument is specious and transparent. Review some pesky facts below.

The plan only permitted individuals to invest 4% of their earnings privately in the first year, with modest increases permitted in subsequent years. So, even if these investment tyros lost it all, which is hard to do in any investment, it wouldn’t be a game changer.

The government was not permitting folks to invest in hedge funds, penny stocks or junk bonds. They were required to select from a list of legitimate investment vehicles.

The program was voluntary. If an individual did not have the skill or desire to make personal investment choices, he did not have to. He could continue to allow the government to manage his money.

The program was so modest and so reasonable, that it seems that it would be difficult to attack it. Why, then, did it provoke such ire and vitriol from the left?

These guys were scared. They weren’t frightened that folks would lose money and be vulnerable during their retirement years. They weren’t spooked that it would jeopardize the social security system’s financial stability. They were terrified that the privatization program would actually work. They couldn’t tolerate any fissure in their edifice that stood for total government control of other people’s money and personal decisions. If this initial privatization effort succeeded, they knew that the public, now empowered, would demand greater control of their own money.

To those who believe that the government knows best how to invest my social security retirement money, then why shouldn’t it control all of my investment income? Should I be trusted to invest money that will one day be used to pay tuition for my kids? Indeed, anti-privatizers could argue that all of our money should be turned over to the government, so they can wisely manage it and then disburse it as it sees fit.

Alice Rivlin, a Democratic economist and Paul Ryan, a Republican congressman, who many hope will become a GOP presidential candidate, advised consideration of privatizing the Medicare program. Of course, this idea is political dynamite, but their proposal from two thoughtful public servants on opposite sides of the aisle shows that this strategy deserves air time and public discussion.

Privatization should not be a private matter. Let’s bring it out into the public square.

TAGGED:healthcare policyMedicaresocial security
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Health care

FDA Moves To Electronic Premarket Submissions

June 26, 2020
Health care

Why Is a Referenced Based Pricing Tool Necessary?

February 3, 2023

The Challenges of Health Care Cost Control

June 3, 2011
work order software for healthcare business
Global HealthcareTechnology

How to Customize Work Order Software for Healthcare Providers

October 13, 2021
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?