Turning A Trojan Horse Into An Achilles Heel
Not even President Reagan was willing to "touch the third rail of politics". Think for a moment about the magnitude of the symbolism and the power conveyed by that statement. It implies that Social Security has virtually become an impregnable suit of armor for every other socialistic program. Against the Social Security shield, is it any wonder that most Republicans or other conservatives seeking elected office quake at the challenge, "If he is willing to go after (school lunches or substitute the socialistic program of your choice), will your Social Security check be next?" Social Security has effectively won every battle for the socialists and then stood guard to protect every other socialistic program from any challenge. In effect, Social Security has become the equivalent of an invincible guardian for socialism much like the mythical Greek warrior, the seemingly immortal Achilles. But therein lies the opportunity to completely end socialism. Like the legendary Greek warrior, Social Security has a vulnerable spot, an Achilles Heel. In fact, there are at least three of them:
There is no Constitutional authority for socialism.
In a "free" country, it is a contradiction of reality to have a government mandated (compulsory) retirement scheme.
There is no rational basis for socialism.
Social Security is a pyramid scheme, and like all such schemes it can be visualized as an inverted pyramid balanced on the point. Because it is so large and because there are so many people involved in its huge mass, it has a tremendous amount of inertia to overcome. But once tipped, it will crash like the albatross it is. Absent their Achilles, the other socialistic schemes will topple like dominoes.
Social Security is a mandatory program. Mandatory is the very antithesis of freedom. WE must demand that Social Security become a voluntary program giving each person the right to choose whether or not they want to participate in Social Security. If Social Security is the universally popular and wonderful program that Democrats believe, then Democrats should have no objection to giving every American a one time choice to opt out or to opt into Social Security. If Democrats are correct about the merits of this program, they should have nothing to fear. If Democrats refuse to allow making participation in Social Security an individual voluntary choice, the lies and the myth will finally be exposed for anyone to see. Every Democrat in every election should be faced with an opponent willing to trust every American to select their own retirement options until Social Security is a voluntary choice instead of a mandatory plan chosen by politicians in Washington.
Targeting Achilles' Heel
Unlike Medicare, the financial and economic problems posed by Social Security can be solved. The Cato Plan to voluntarily privatize Social Security based on every individual American's personal choice is basically sound and can be improved. It can be proved that the economic retirement security of all Americans will be improved by privatization and conversely, it can be proved that the retirement security of all Americans will be endangered by the status quo. This is not only Social Security's Achilles Heel. It is also the Achilles Heel for the Democratic Party. Stripped of their armor, the Democrats will have no defense for socialism. Without socialism, Democrats have almost nothing else to offer. Without socialism, the Democratic Party is a vacuum with no reason for existence.