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Health care, Social Security and Galveston County's opt out
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Former Galveston, TX County Judge Ray Holbrook
Did you know that local government entities used to be able to opt out of Social Security? In the late 1970's the Social Security Administration was nearly bankrupt and the original stipulation that local governments could opt out of the program. Well, Galveston County in Texas decided to opt out!
Then-County Judge Ray Holbrook, County Attorney Bill Decker and Houston businessman Kebodeaux set up a fund that has outperformed the Social Security program two to three times over! Says current Galveston County Judge James Yarbrough, "It has been a great success for us!"
Well, when the SSA finally did go bankrupt in the early 1980's, Congress closed the loophole which Matagorda and Brazoria Counties had followed Galveston through in 1979 and following. Congress also raised the Social Security income tax from 2% to its present 12.4% (6% each from employee and employer contributions).
Now, consider the lessons learned from the "Ponzi Scheme" that is Social Security, its bankruptcy in the early 1980's, the promises made by Democrats when the SSA was initially set up and what has happened since with regards to payments into the system as well as benefits for recipients.
The system looks nothing like it did when it was implemented. The tax rate is 6 times what it was initially (12.4% to 2%). Taxes are collected on the first $108,000 of income, not the promised first $3,000 of income. Benefits are limited and a reduction in payments is being considered.
Now consider the present situation with regards to the issue of nationalizing the health care insurance industry. The government, in the form of Democrats again, is promising that "existing coverage will not be affected." Yet even Planned Parenthood, one of the staunchest allies of President Barack Obama, has already stated its concerns that the President's plan will in fact affect coverage of women whose existing insurance covers abortions.
Now, I don't mean to turn this article into a discussion of abortion. My intent in bringing up Planned Parenthood is to show that even the President's most ardent defenders are falling away and stating that his plan will not do what he claims it will. The President states, "existing coverage will not be affected" while Planned Parenthood states that it will do just that!
Second verse, same as the first under Franklin Roosevelt some 80 years ago. A Democratic President has already made these promises before. Now they are doing so again. Who do you believe?
Private industry has already proven that it can outperform government programs in the Galveston County Social Security opt out program. Retired employees of Galveston County now enjoy retirement income between two and three times greater than Social Security would be paying them. And yet government promises that it can manage a health care insurance program better than industry where it has already proven an abject, bankrupt failure in retirement planning and investments.
The Republican Party and Congressional leadership needs to be hammering home this illustration. Further, leading up to the 2010 elections, they need to assemble a better proposal. As Rep. Pete Sessions mentioned last night at his town hall meeting, tax incentives can be deployed to spur competition. And competition can deliver to people that which government bureaucracy can never hope to provide.
Then again, the government has bankruptcy down pretty well, between Social Security and General Motors!
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