Social Security

The Virtue of Freedom

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 1, 1999

Christmas is the perfect time of year to reflect on such things as freedom and virtue. People give presents to their friends and loved ones, donate food and clothing to the poor, and make contributions to their churches and other worthy causes. And they do it all voluntarily. No one forces them to do so. Do you ever wonder how ...

Morality and Social Security

by Rev. Robert A. Sirico December 1, 1999

It is widely acknowledged by people of all economic and political persuasions that something will have to be to be done about Social Security in the coming years. Some want to shore up the system through higher taxes and other reforms. Others want to convert it to a private-oriented pension system. Even President Clinton has entertained the prospect of ...

Why Not Simply Repeal Social Security?

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 1998

As the November congressional elections approach, Social Security is certain to become a topic of political conversation. With a budget surplus in mind, Republicans are seeking an $80 billion tax cut for the American people. President Clinton is threatening a veto. He says that taxes can't be cut because ...

Social Security Has to Go

by Sheldon Richman January 1, 1998

President Clinton has jumped on the Social Security reform bandwagon. As a believer in government-sponsored pensions, he thinks he can fix the system. He is wrong. Social Security cannot be fixed. There is only one thing to do: junk it. The financial problems with the system have ...

Repealing, Not Reforming, Social Security, Part 2

by Doug Bandow July 1, 1997

Part 1 | Part 2 What, then, do we do about Social Security? There are three general alternatives. The first is to tinker, while keeping Social Security essentially as it is. The second is to privatize the system by paying off current retirees and mandating private retirement contributions. The third is to simply repeal Social Security. First, tinkering with the ...

Repealing, Not Reforming, Social Security, Part 1

by Doug Bandow June 1, 1997

Part 1 | Part 2 Social Security may be the most important domestic issue in Washington today. Everyone in the nation's capital is for a balanced budget, or so it seems. Even if these most election-minded of politicos were serious, however, there would remain a rather serious fly in the ointment. Politicians preaching a balanced budget want us to believe ...

The Repeal of Social Security

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 1995

Sixty years ago — on August 14, 1935 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act. It was one of the major political events that transformed the United States into a welfare state. It was a law that enabled government to use the force of taxation to ...

Electing Our Daddy

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 1992

For 125 years, the American people elected a president. During that time, the powers of the president were extremely limited. The American people did not permit the passage, for example, of income taxation, drug laws, and welfare laws. They also refused to permit a large standing military force. And they did not allow their government to engage in foreign ...

Seeking Security in a Government-Guaranteed World

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 1992

Throughout history, people have surrendered their liberties to government in the hope of attaining a sense of security. The American people in this century proved to be no different. Our ancestors had established a way of life in which there was no income taxation, welfare, or economic regulation — a ...

Letting Go of Socialism

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 1990

Socialism has held the world in its grip since the beginning of the 20th century. People everywhere fell for the seductive allure of governmental security. Now on the eve of the 21st century, people all over the world are considering letting go of the socialist nightmare. But tragically, one of ...