Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Ponzi scheme


Rick Perry recently said:

Social Security is structured from the point of view of the recipients as if it were an ordinary retirement plan: what you get out depends on what you put in. So it does not look like a redistributionist scheme. In practice it has turned out to be strongly redistributionist, but only because of its Ponzi game aspect, in which each generation takes more out than it put in. Well, the Ponzi game will soon be over, thanks to changing demographics, so that the typical recipient henceforth will get only about as much as he or she put in (and today's young may well get less than they put in).

That kind of alarmist rhetoric is sadly typical of opportunitistic, rightwing demagogues like Perry, who resort to shameless scare tactics to win.

Well, almost…

The quote I just attributed to Perry actually comes from leftwing economist Paul Krugman:


http://www.bostonreview.net/BR21.6/krugmann.html

7 comments:

  1. I suspected the quote wasn't really from Perry. I can't imagine him using the word "henceforth".

    Side note:
    Watching Perry in the debates, I kept getting a "gay vibe" from him. I wondered if I was the only one. So, I did a google search and was surprised to find a lot of rumors of both gay and straight indiscretions. I don't know if there's any truth to the rumors. But I hope whatever the truth is concerning his sexuality will be revealed before a Republican national candidate is chosen.

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  2. Anyone else's "gaydar" ringing?

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  3. Perry was maybe sniffing glue in between segments or he had a feather in his shoe. Newt looked strong as usual and would crush Obama, Romney always looks Presidential, (whatever that means anymore). The Red Headed step child Santorum was the same, the knucklehead from Utah bugs me as usual, but he's cool just ask him about his record, Bachman is fighting for us, that we know, whats been accomplished I'm not sure. Ron Paul never Presidential but always fights for small government. Herman is getting better but stands virtually no chance, but at least he is working on the right problem.

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  4. "...but he's cool just ask him about his record..."

    LOL




    "...but at least he is working on the right problem..."


    LOL

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  5. Newt would crush Obama in a debate. Whether he'd crush him in the voting booth is a different question.

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  6. Newt is a policy wonk D.C. insider.

    No chance of being POTUS. Maybe Veep material though.

    CD

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  7. I'm pretty sure if Newt won the nominee he'd crush Obama at the polls also, if of course he continued to point out to the world Obamas glaring flaws and didn't do a "Nice Guy" McCain approach. When I see the gap in the polls here in California not in favor of Obama in any meaningful way, I can only think most any of the seven dwarfs could beat King Obama. I could of course be wrong because Americans voted for FDR with unemployment high & years of depression already upon them, but alas I think the internet is a game changer.

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