or Powell's or me• • •
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
December 17, 2004
A Joke About Social Security
You probably didn't think it was possible to make jokes about Social Security. Too boring. Au contraire!
One thing I've always enjoyed about the "debate" about Social Security privatization is that the first country to try it was Chile, under the Pinochet regime. So we're borrowing ideas from a notorious military dictatorship. Sometimes this is even acknowledged, as in this story about Chile's system:
The idea has caught on from Latin America to Eastern Europe, and Asia is expressing strong interest... Privatizing Chile's old bankrupt "pay as you go" pension system wasn't politically difficult because it happened during the rule of dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
Yes, it wasn't "politically difficult." Unless you count the slaughter of thousands of Chileans as a political difficulty, which you really shouldn't. Killing them was easy!
Anyway, the fact that the institution of Chile's plan required killing Chileans should give you a clue about whose interests it served there. It should also give you a clue about who it's "caught on" with "from Latin America to Eastern Europe," and who exactly in Asia "is expressing strong interest."
This is why I like to say: If you LIKE mass executions in soccer stadiums... you'll LOVE the privatization of Social Security!
Posted at December 17, 2004 04:41 PM | TrackBackDon't forget about Argentina. They tried the same thing, and it really worked out...to collapse the economy, that is.
Posted by: Grillo at December 18, 2004 11:25 PMGrillo,
You bet. Although for Argentina I prefer:
If you LIKE flying pregnant women out over the ocean at two thousand feet and pushing them out... you'll LOVE the privatization of Social Security!
Posted by: Jonathan Schwarz at December 20, 2004 04:29 AM
