GOP’s third rail is Social Security

Republicans never seem to learn the “third rail” of cutting Social Security is real and, if you touch it, your political career gets electrocuted. Conservative political philosopher James Burnham liked to say, “No solution, no problem.” That is, if there’s no solution, then your situation is just something to be endured.

Republicans like this reform because it’s part of their business-oriented approach to “fixing” problems. Even those that can’t be fixed.

The Washington Post just headlined, “Trump’s GOP rivals open door to cutting Social Security for younger people: Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence and Nikki Haley propose curbing spending on the program without affecting seniors.”

They have plans supposedly to save the program from insolvency and help the youngsters through alternative savings plans. So the Post headline is misleading — but inevitable.

A political pitch needs to be simple. But what Republicans are saying has three parts, “We’re cutting Social Security for young people. But we have this great plan for them that’s even better after the cuts. And we won’t cut anything for those over 50.”

Most voters, especially the young it’s supposed to help, just hear: cut, cut, cut. Then Democrats say: Don’t cut our Social Security!

The kids already are ticked off about the Republican House and Supreme Court nixing President Biden’s student debt relief. Pushing retirement reform like this will lose them for a couple of generations.

Notice who isn’t calling for any change in these programs: Former President Donald Trump. Whatever you think of him, he knows marketing. He won in 2016 in part by promising seniors he would protect their programs.

President Ronald Reagan did the same. I remember him campaigning in 1980 telling seniors he would take care of them, and he did so with the 1983 Greenspan Commission reforms.

There’s another problem. In the 1990s, I wrote numerous Register editorials pushing the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute reforms, which gradually would have shifted young people to private-equity investments which could actually bring greater returns.

Then two things happened. In 1999, Gov. Gray Davis signed into law Senate Bill 400, which spiked pensions for state workers, putting them permanently out of balance. In a 2016 interview, he regretted it, saying, “No, I would not have signed it.” CalPERS now is only 72% funded, and CalSTRS 74%.

Second, these funds became subject to political manipulation. They only should invest in ways legally increasing equity, so both pensioners and taxpayers are not hurt. But in 2000, CalPERS ditched investing in tobacco companies. A 2018 Wilshire Associates study found that it cost $3.58 billion. But a later Wilshire study showed the policy gained $856 million from 2017-20. Still a net negative.

This year state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, sponsored Senate Bill 252. It would force the pension funds to divest their $15 billion fossil fuel investments. It passed the Senate on May 25, 23-10, then was shelved till next year.

The point is switching Social Security to a similar model based on equities would bring inevitable meddling in both the equities markets and the economy at large, guaranteeing a depression wiping out all those supposedly superior private investments for retirees.

I actually tried to convince Vice President Dick Cheney of this in early 2005 when he came to the Register’s editorial office to sell President George W. Bush’s privatization plan just after both were reelected. Cheney didn’t get what I was saying.

This new push by the nonTrump presidential candidates is going to hit local Republicans in California, even if they reject these ideas. As Doug Schoen wrote in the July 23 Register, the control of the House of Representatives “will seemingly come down to Southern California… as kingmaker,” because of several races Republicans and Democrats are targeting.

Here’s some advice, Republicans: Social Security was created in 1935 by Democrats after they won overwhelming elections for president and both houses of Congress. Let them fix the unfixable.

As for me, when I was young I pushed privatization reforms until I realized no reforms can work. Now I’m 68 and here’s my message to Republicans: Don’t touch my Social Security!