|
|
Nikki Haley on Social Security |
Some of the government interventions of that time and of the previous progressive era are things we now take for granted. Social Security as a way to reduce rampant poverty among the elderly. Child labor laws and minimum-wage and maximum-work-hour-laws to curb some of the roughest edges of the capitalist system. The ability to voluntarily join an industrial labor union. We would no more look to undo these innovations than we would seek to return to the pre-civil rights era laws on race discrimination. They have become a part of the American fabric, and it's a good thing they have.
Our current policy of automatically awarding cost of living increases is irresponsible and unsustainable. To protect our pension funds, we must stop granting cost-of-living increases to our retirees in years when the funds are losing money. It may not be politically popular, but it's the only responsible thing to do.
There are a number of other reforms that we must adopt in order to shore up the retirement systems and to curtail further abuses. We need anti-spiking provisions that keep employees from using sick leave and vacation to artificially inflate their pension payouts. For new enrollees, we need to close the doors to the TERI program once and for all to prevent double-dipping.