On the Scene

Washington, D.C.

LAWRENCE Smedley, executive director of the National Council of Senior Citizens, held a joint press conference with Senator Chuck Robb (D., Va.) last October to offer his endorsement. Ollie North had just suggested that perhaps Social Security should be voluntary, and Smedley was hitting hard: North’s proposal “would undoubtedly bring back to Virginia and the nation old-age poorhouses.” The endorsement got good play in the press. An anchor of a Washington-area TV station reported, “Robb made it clear today that he’s a true friend of a national senior citizens’ group.” The event was typical election-year scaremongering on Social Security, with one exception: it might not have been possible without your tax dollars.

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Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry is the editor in chief of National Review.

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Washington, D.C.

LAWRENCE Smedley, executive director of the National Council of Senior Citizens, held a joint press conference with Senator Chuck Robb (D., Va.) last October to offer his endorsement. Ollie North had just suggested that perhaps Social Security should be voluntary, and Smedley was hitting hard: North’s proposal “would undoubtedly bring back to Virginia and the nation old-age poorhouses.” The endorsement got good play in the press. An anchor of a Washington-area TV station reported, “Robb made it clear today that he’s a true friend of a national senior citizens’ group.” The event was typical election-year scaremongering on Social Security, with one exception: it might not have been possible without your tax dollars.