Is Social Security a Sacred Cow?

Since that torn-up social security card came fluttering down the television screens with such terrific electoral impact, there has been a tacit agreement among conservatives that the social security system is a cow too sacred to approach without due reverence. But, as the payroll tax which supports it edges toward 10 per cent (with no firm limit in sight), a serious question is posed. Can an effective critique of the welfare state be sustained if the social security system is to be forever immune from attack? It is a central pillar of the entire structure, a pillar now being strengthened by the addition of the first phase of socialized medicine.

If the principle of governmental action in these fields of insurance is allowed to go unchallenged, then there will remain no principled basis for challenging the usurpation by government bureaucrats of any field of private endeavor. The essential issue is not this program or that, but whether the over-all massive weight of government action and the concomitant growth of government power are compatible with the continued existence of a free society.

FS

About the Author

Frank S. Meyer

Frank S. Meyer was a senior editor of National Review.

Featured Tags

Since that torn-up social security card came fluttering down the television screens with such terrific electoral impact, there has been a tacit agreement among conservatives that the social security system is a cow too sacred to approach without due reverence. But, as the payroll tax which supports it edges toward 10 per cent (with no firm limit in sight), a serious question is posed. Can an effective critique of the welfare state be sustained if the social security system is to be forever immune from attack? It is a central pillar of the entire structure, a pillar now being strengthened by the addition of the first phase of socialized medicine.

If the principle of governmental action in these fields of insurance is allowed to go unchallenged, then there will remain no principled basis for challenging the usurpation by government bureaucrats of any field of private endeavor. The essential issue is not this program or that, but whether the over-all massive weight of government action and the concomitant growth of government power are compatible with the continued existence of a free society.