The American Human: Back to the Blog: Expand Social Security Now

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Back to the Blog: Expand Social Security Now

I went to Yurp. There, I learned that Yurpeens thought we were crazy (yes, they correctly blamed the Republicans). Since this was during the government shutdown and almost government debt default, I easily agreed. What I couldn't do was continue to blog. I spent so much time walking, eating, looking, museuming, and eating, (and, yes, drinking, and, uh, drinking -- I didn't go back to smoking, though, no matter how much fun it looks in Yurp) that I couldn't concentrate on anything more complex that Metro maps, train schedules, and directions to the 12 things a day I was hellbound to do in Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Denmark. Trying to figure out which country had the best countryside, the best cities, the best museums, the best and worst history, the best political system, the best social-welfare state, the lowest prices, even the most beautiful women used up all the available oxygen and brain power and left me with little desire to figure out whether Ted Cruz was the Spawn of Satan or merely another in the endless parade of Enemies of the People known as today's Republican Party.

But I'm back and the memories fade, leaving room to be pulled back in. I decided over there not to dwell on the stupid as much as I used to, so let me make this first new installment of "The American Human" be about Atrios of Eschaton's favorite cause: expansion of Social Security. I support it, and I offer a link to David Dayen's tribute to Atrios' tilting at Washington windmills.

Read it here.

And, yes, expand Social Security now and pay for it with a higher cap on FICA taxes. Oh, and a surcharge on the very rich. Heck, even the not-quite very rich.

Surprise bonus: The expansion of the economy caused by this wealth transfer will make everyone a little richer, even the very rich. Win-win! (The very rich hoard too much money, making it sort of worthless. Let somebody else spend it!)

There are better ways to feed the poor and elderly.

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My General Principles

1. Civilized societies require the rule of law.
2. Science is my preferred method for examining and understanding reality.
3. Religion is superstition.
4. An educated society is a healthy society.
5. Democratic governments are by their very nature socialist.
6. Market economies are by their very nature capitalist.
7. Markets are not (entirely) efficient or rational and thus require regulation.
8. Don’t confuse politics with public policy.
9. Civil discourse requires rational argument, even if yelling or stomping your feet or name-calling is more fun.
10. If you consider making stuff up a viable tactic, you are disallowed from civil discourse.
11. Puritanism is America’s original sin.
12. Income redistribution is good for society, hoarding is not.
13. Everybody, from time to time, needs help.

About the American Human

The American Human is written by Calvin Ross, a retired teacher who at various points in life has been a musician, woodworker, restaurateur, narrator, English teacher in Japan, novelist, technology journalist, and private tutor to Japanese children here in the U.S.

Happily residing in the wine country of Sonoma County north of San Francisco, Calvin has lived in the Philippines, the Netherlands, and the aforementioned Japan, as well as in Chicago, Colorado, Georgia, and many different towns in California, including, of all places, the Mojave Desert.

Calvin, you may note quickly, is a liberal progressive who doesn't think being called a socialist is all that bad, especially since he sort of would like living in Denmark if it weren't so cold. He blogs because he can.