A Stitch in Haste

Remember the draft hysteria, promulgated by the, ahem, "non-partisan" (wink, wink) youth-oriented political group Rock the Vote?

Well, like the worse sequel to a bad horror movie, those lead panderers to the post-pubescent ignoranti are back with more lies to young people, this time about Social Security reform:

A new poll shows young voters may not be the political base that some politicians expect for phasing out Social Security in favor of private investments. Released by Rock the Vote, AARP, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the poll finds that nearly sixty percent of 18-39 year olds oppose private accounts if it would mean "a lower guaranteed benefit in retirement."

The survey of 1000 adults, conducted by Roper Public Affairs, reaches similar conclusions to previous polls: many young people doubt they will receive Social Security and are receptive, at first blush anyway, to the idea of investing their own Social Security money. But when they consider the price of creating private accounts, young people, like the majority of Americans, no longer support them.

In releasing the poll, Rock the Vote's Washington Director Hans Riemer said, "This poll shows that young people do not support changing Social Security if it means dismantling the basic safety net, cutting benefits dramatically, or massively increasing the national debt. We get all three at once under most private account plans."

Okay, and I don't support rescuing kittens if it means killing puppies. But fortunately the two aren't connected. Ditto for Social Security reform.

It is a flat-out lie to assert that the current private account proto-plans (we still await specifics) result in any, let alone all, of the three "Horsemen of the Social Security Apocalypse" (i.e., "dismantling" -- note the biased term -- the basic safety net, "drastically" -- note the biased term -- cutting benefits, or "massively" -- note the biased term -- increasing the national debt). Social Security reform is no Hobson's choice.

The Heritage Foundation has already run the fraudulent push-polling techniques through the shredder -- see here. But here are my own hasty stitches:

--As arousing a fantasy as it might be for some of us, no one, absolutely no one, is suggesting "phasing out" Social Security. Just because I don't like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" doesn't mean I support "phasing out" the military. Scaremongering yields opposition. Go figure.

--There's that pesky g-word again: "guaranteed benefits." Except that there is no such thing. In case you haven't been following: In Fleming v. Nestor, 363 U.S. 603 (1960), the Supreme Court made perfectly clear -- there is no "right" to Social Security benefits and benefits are in no way "guaranteed." Stated differently, how about Rock the Vote briefing the young respondents on what will happen to scheduled benefits (a far more intellectually honest term) if no reform is implemented? The only thing that is "guaranteed" is that those benefits will be cut with or without reform.

--Don't you just love that "at first blush" spin? Young people actually support private accounts. Go figure. That is, of course, until the follow-up push-poll questions steer them to where Rock the Vote and AARP need them to be. And John Kerry won the popular vote in the "battleground states." Whatever.

--Did the survey questions include any discussion of the anti-gay provisions of Social Security under DOMA and how private accounts help to offset them? Of course not. Young people tend to support equal rights for gays and tend to oppose discrimination generally. Might the poll results have changed, even just a little bit, if the anti-gay nature of the current system were more widely understood?

If we're going to see the same level of nonsense from Rock the Vote over Social Security reform that we did over the draft hysteria, then start stockpiling the aspirin and antacids.

UPDATE: Club for Growth's Social Security Choice blog has an open letter response to RTV.

Related Posts:
Draft Hysteria: Hurry and Read This Before the Game Starts!
Who are the AARP?
Who Faces the "Risk" of Social Security Reform?
Social Security Reform 101