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The Ralph Rant
Does your Republican Senator or Representative believe that the federal government should be used, in President Obama's words, to “spread the wealth around?” Perhaps you should ask them if they have a principled opposition to what Karl Marx famously labeled “from each according to his means, to each according to his needs.”
Unfortunately, some otherwise reliable conservatives seem to believe in the principle – unless “spreading the wealth around” can be used as a way to balance the budget. They seem to think they have to choose between socialism and deficits. I reject any such notion.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels appears most of the time to be a principled conservative who is appropriately concerned about the federal spending and debt problem, but he's willing to leave at least one of his principles at the door in order to make it easier to get the country's fiscal house in order.
Interviewed by Fox News, Daniels said recently that he would use means testing for big entitlement programs, including Social Security. “My preferences would be to means test it. Let's concentrate these resources on the people who definitely need them” said Daniels. “Why are we sending a retirement check to Warren Buffett?”
By invoking Warren Buffet's name, Daniels employs the same “divide and conquer” technique employed by liberals. Okay, fair enough – we'll means test out Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. Will that make everyone happy? Of course not. They also want to apply the means test to a much larger group – including those who have lived modestly, saved and invested wisely, and therefore could take care of their own needs without Social Security and Medicare.
Others who have earned as much, but have spent all of their earnings would “need” the entitlements because they haven't saved, so they would not be means tested out of the programs.
Means testing is the best way in the world to encourage financial irresponsibility. Why would you save for your retirement if it means you will have to spend all of your savings on your retirement needs, while your neighbor, who worked alongside you, lived the life of Riley and now the government will cover all of his needs when he retires?
More important, means testing is just another method of “spreading the wealth around.” It is using the government to (forcefully) take from each according to his means, and give to each according to his needs.
Means testing makes the poor and middle class dependent on the rich, and uses the government as the vehicle to take from one and give to the other. On top of that, it promotes personal financial irresponsibility as a way of being one of the receivers instead of one of the involuntary donors to the redistribution system.
We do have to find savings – big savings – in entitlement programs in order to responsibly balance the budget. But if it comes from means testing, we have added to the growing problem of Americans becoming too dependent on their neighbor. Means testing will grow the dependency agenda, not shrink it.
The savings should come primarily by introducing free enterprise reforms to the entitlement programs. If benefits are to be reduced, they should be reduced for all, not just some – making all of us – not just some of us – less dependent on government.
There is time to transform Social Security from a social insurance to a personal savings program over a period of years. Congress can find savings in Medicare with health savings accounts that include incentives for seniors and their doctors to avoid unnecessary tests and procedures. There are ways to cut spending on entitlements without means testing. If this congress can't find them, we'll need to find a better congress.
The easy way out is for Congress to means test the entitlements, thereby finding savings by reducing benefits to those who “need” it the least. That would involve sacrificing a principle that serves as the primary defense against a growing dependency agenda. The dependency agenda is a certain path to European style socialism that will lead to the same economic fate as Greece, Spain and France.
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