Social Security Truth From Ponzi To Perry

From the left to the right, political commentators are piling onto Texas Governor Rick Perry for calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.” Perry’s competitors for the Republican presidential nomination are overjoyed at an opening against the new front-runner, with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney calling Perry “reckless and wrong on Social Security.” Romney’s campaign alleged that the Texas governor “believes Social Security should not exist.” Even the ordinarily white-hot conservative Michele Bachmann has gotten in on the act, calling it “wrong for any candidate to make senior citizens believe that they should be nervous about something they have come to count on.”

Perry has responded with a USA Today op-ed on Social Security, stressing the need to reform the system. But, like another recent Texas governor, Perry has the weakness of saying what he thinks without adequately explaining what he says. This doesn’t mean he’s wrong—as I’ll explain, there’s a lot that’s right about Perry’s claims—but it unnecessarily exposes him to attacks. That’s why I don’t call Social Security a Ponzi scheme; incendiary language can cloud whatever substantive point you’re trying to make. Nevertheless, I’ll try to sort a few things out.

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