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Don't You Dare Call It a Ponzi!

Governor Perry referred to Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" and the Left went ape. Somehow, they think it's nuts to refer to Social Security as a Ponzi arrangement, even though their own darling, Paul Krugman, has said it has a "Ponzi game aspect." So is it a Ponzi scheme, partly a Ponzi scheme, or not remotely a Ponzi scheme?

Robert Murphy breaks down the Ponzi elements and examines them. It's worthwhile reading, if you want to understand the Ponzi concept and how it relates to Social Security. For me, I'm less willing to refer to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme, since it's not as "cut and dry" as I previously thought. On the other hand, it's clearly not nutty to refer to it as a Ponzi scheme. It has more Ponzi-like attributes than not.

The article also has a common sense defense of the much-maligned (and pictured above) Charles Ponzi:

It's true that Ponzi engaged in fraud; his victims never would have "invested" with him, had he accurately explained the business model. Libertarians therefore agree with everybody else that Charles Ponzi was a criminal and would have to face legal consequences in any just legal order.
However, so far as we know Ponzi never threatened anybody. He didn't tell struggling young workers, "Give me 15 percent of your paycheck every week, so that I can make you a fantastic return – or else I'll send goons to kidnap you."
In this respect, Social Security isn't a Ponzi scheme after all. It's more analogous to mobsters shaking down people for protection money, because otherwise "bad things could happen."

But I'd take Fonzie over Ponzi. The Fonz was honest, could work with his own hands, scored with the babes, protected those closest to him, and minded his own business. We need more politicians like the Fonz (without the babes part . . . we don't need more Kennedies).

Drinking Corner

Beer promotes bone health . . . maybe:

American nutritionists found that beer could be a good source of silicon, thought to play an important role in bone health.
Beer could provide a substantial amount of silicon in the Western diet, said researchers from the University of California, Davis, who published their study in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
Silicon can be found in whole grains such as oats, barley, and rice, and in vegetables such as cucumbers, asparagus and leafy greens, but it appears that people may get more of it in beer than they do eating whole foods,

Link.

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