Letters to the Editor

‘Pension Possibilities’Amity Shlaes correctly reports that Social Security’s insolvency can be warded off by reducing benefit formulas [“Pension Possibilities,” Opinion, November 9, 2004].Nevertheless, bringing the system into actuarial balance, although technically possible, would simply make a bad deal worse by lowering the payout.Ms. Shlaes mentions “privatization,” i.e., personal retirement accounts, or PRAs, as a means of providing higher returns, but some elaboration is in order.Only one-third of Federal Insurance Contributions Act funds, or FICA, deposited into PRAs would generate more retirement income than the present systemSuch a program would put younger workers on a self-sustaining track, with funds invested in mixed stock and bond and/or index funds, as in any conventional retirement savings plan. PRAs will ultimately transform Social Security into a fully funded system.After a few decades of transition, workers would receive a hefty raise through the elimination of FICA, raising the standard of living at every income level – in perpetuity.At the culmination of the transition from pay-as-you-go to a proper retirement savings program, we will have witnessed the largest tax cut in the history of the world.Today, every child in America has a price on his or her head on the order of $1 million through payroll taxes they will pay over a working lifetime to support their grandparent’s entitlement lifestyle. This injustice can be rectified only through the implementation of PRAs.EDWIN R. THOMPSONManhattan‘After Arafat’If Yasser Arafat had been clever and accepted Ehud Barak’s reckless offer, Israel would now be a non-viable, waterless, defenseless coastal strip with half of its capital city in PLO hands [“After Arafat,” Editorial, November 5, 2004].If Arafat’s successor is smart enough to temporarily stop the killing and reprise Anwar Sadat’s tour-de-force performance in Jerusalem, a euphoric Israel would likely give away almost anything as it gave away the Sinai to a defeated Sadat after he treacherously attacked Israel and killed 3,000 Israeli troops.GEORGE E. RUBINManhattanColumbia Abuzz Over FilmIn regard to the position of Columbia University professor Joseph Massad’s belief that Israel is a racist state: If he states it in class as a belief, not a fact, that is quite different from using that belief as something factual [“Columbia Abuzz Over Underground Film,” Jacob Gershman, Page 1, October 20, 2004].But – and I emphasize this strongly – if he is not giving equal voice to the monolithic dictatorial stand of the theocratic governments of Iran and the Arabic states – then he is teaching neither history nor how to think critically, but pursuing another agenda.LEE SCHULTZManhattanPlease address letters intended for publication to the Editor of The New York Sun. Letters may be sent by e-mail to editor@nysun.com, facsimile to 212-608-7348, or post to 105 Chambers Street, New York City 10007. Please include a return address and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

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