Another election year is upon us and all we can be sure of hearing is two things. The candidates for governor will promise to reform education and the national candidates for one of the parties will go into hysterics about the imminent demise of Social Security. The education system won't change and Social Security will survive--no matter who wins. I will save education for another time. The people shortchanged by that topic can't read this anyway. The hand wringing over Social Security we are forced to endure each election year has become as predictable as the tides.

One party comes out and accuses the other of wanting to the starve the old people and the seniors with poor memories and questionable judgement will rush to the polls to pull the lever for their perceived saviors. It's not unlike old pagan rituals sacrificing a virgin so that the rains will come. No one considered that the rains were coming irregardless of the ritual. Unfortunately, the rains of Social Security are little more than a sprinkle. A mere spit of what they could be if individual Americans were allowed to direct the investment of this money into IRAs, 401Ks or earmark a small percentage for investment into the various markets.

Giving people control of their own retirement money is not rejected on the basis of its practicality. It is not rejected because of any evidence that it won't work. On the contrary, in most instances where free markets are used to compound the return on investments of retirement funds, the people see much higher levels of income. The objection to personal control of one's retirement money is purely political. Abandonment of the time-honored tradition of frightening old people would remove half of the election year ritual. What would be used to frighten the "common sense" impaired into voting for the protectors of the welfare state?

Another thing that astounds me is that American votes can be purchased for such a pittance. Here's the deal. The government will take 11% of your money, use accounting tricks to fool the people into thinking the government budget is on track, and then, if you live to be 65, the government will dole it back to you in small amounts until you die. If you die before you turn 65 your family gets nothing. Well you do get a $250.00 death benefit. I'm not sure what your family is supposed to use it for… Candles? Flowers?

The people who campaign for public office by harping on the fate of Social Security checks have a definite advantage over the people who vote to send them to Washington. Neither the politicians nor the federal bureaucrats who administer this scam are required to pay into the Social Security System. They have a different retirement plan. Politicians on both sides of the political spectrum are careful not to mention this little fact. There is never any political posturing over the threatened demise of the Federal Employees' retirement package.

I would like to see a politician show up at the beginning of the campaign season, admit that the only things the education system needs is immunity from lawsuits, higher academic standards and vouchers. That same candidate could also promise to go to Washington and introduce legislation that would dismantle the federal retirement programs for both the bureaucrats and the elected officials and replace it with Social Security. Of course this won't happen. Even if a person made it past the election process, they would never be given the opportunity to bring such a bill to the floor of Congress.