A Case of Rape (Political)

[R. Richard]

This post is for anyone who's involved in the USA Social Security system.

Some time back, the government of Chile called in a team of economists (called the Chicago Boys) to analyze what needed to be done to restore Chile's ruined economy. The government of Chile accepted the recommendations and implemented them, on or about 1 May 1981. The results are summarized in a front page article in the Monday, 2 May edition of Investor's Business Daily (the Monday edition is delivered on Saturday.)

Go to your local library and read the article. If you and/or you children are involved in the USA SS system, bring a barf bag, you'll need it. You and/or your children are getting financially raped.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

This post is for anyone who's involved in the USA Social Security system.

Some time back, the government of Chile called in a team of economists (called the Chicago Boys) to analyze what needed to be done to restore Chile's ruined economy. The government of Chile accepted the recommendations and implemented them, on or about 1 May 1981. The results are summarized in a front page article in the Monday, 2 May edition of Investor's Business Daily (the Monday edition is delivered on Saturday.)

Go to your local library and read the article. If you and/or you children are involved in the USA SS system, bring a barf bag, you'll need it. You and/or your children are getting financially raped.

Yep, back about that time the US allowed county, state and city government organization to opt out of SSA. Down in here in Texas, Galveston county did and set up private investment accounts for their workers. Now when a county worker retires they get 2 to 5 time what they were making when they retired on the same contribution as those made to SSA.

 

[sr71plt]

The problem is in thinking the SSA is a full retirement system. It isn't and never has been. It's a safety net.

Until I started my own post-retirement business, I was under the federal retirement system which didn't then (I think it does now) use the SSA. Under my business, I have to pay both the employer's and employee's SSA payments--and, the kicker, since I draw a federal pension, I only get a fraction of an SSA payment back that I've paid.

But, you know what? I know the SSA is a saftey net not a retirement system--and knew from the get go that I was responsible for my own retirement--and that it keeps people afloat who I would otherwise have to help take care of as indigents if they didn't have this much support. And since I did very well with my careers and have a very nice government annuity, I don't mind a bit helping other people keep afloat to the extent that SSA provides--and helping to keep them off the streets and out of bread lines (which, thanks to the recent Bush administration, I'm now supposed to support too, because he decided just to let the churches handle that).

Bitching about it would only rot my teeth and mind--as it apparently is doing for others. I don't want to spend my life worrying about whether I collected all of the marbles.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Wait, are you saying you want to follow Chile's lead?

I suppose when you have a military coup that puts a sweetie like Pinochet in place, you can impose pretty much any economic program you want. It's not like Chileans got to pick a leader who espoused these policies.

Nice use of the word, "rape," by the way. I'm sure all the women who were raped by Pinochet's forces really appreciate your likening of their experience to a less-than-ideal retirement system.

And I've always found the Chicago Boys as distasteful as our other exploits in Central and South America in the 1960s and 1970s. No matter the outcomes or policies, the idea of setting up a program in country A to influence the policies in country B makes me queasy.

I'd rather live in a democracy than under a brutal dictator, no matter the policies, but maybe that's just me. It's a clear case of the ends not justifying the means.

 

[R. Richard]

Wait, are you saying you want to follow Chile's lead?

I suppose when you have a military coup that puts a sweetie like Pinochet in place, you can impose pretty much any economic program you want. It's not like Chileans got to pick a leader who espoused these policies.

Nice use of the word, "rape," by the way. I'm sure all the women who were raped by Pinochet's forces really appreciate your likening of their experience to a less-than-ideal retirement system.

Salvador Allende was deposed by either himself, or his own palace guard. (When you're found with multiple fatal gunshot wounds to the head, it's normally assumed that you had help.) Allende seized private property, defaulted on Chile's international debts and operated well outside the law. Allende did give the poor more money, however, Chilean inflation was running at 140%, which meant that the poor had a little more money and things cost a lot more.

And I've always found the Chicago Boys as distasteful as our other exploits in Central and South America in the 1960s and 1970s. No matter the outcomes or policies, the idea of setting up a program in country A to influence the policies in country B makes me queasy.

I'd rather live in a democracy than under a brutal dictator, no matter the policies, but maybe that's just me. It's a clear case of the ends not justifying the means.

The Chicago Boys were called in by the Chilean givernment. They, in effect, wrote Chile a new constition, which was adopted by the Chilean givernment. The results of the new constitution have been that Chile is better off economicaly than its neighbors. The runaway inflation that occurred under Allende has been replaced by genuine prosperity.

As of 11 March 1981, Pinochet was replaced as President of the junta by Admiral Merino.

In a massive operation spearheaded by Chilean Army Para-Commandos, security forces involving some 2,000 troops., were deployed in the mountains of Neltume from June to November, where they destroyed two MIR bases, seizing large caches of munitions and killing a number of guerrillas.

In a 1985 report, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that it hoped that "the case now under way will lead to the identification and punishment of the persons responsible for the execution of so culpable an act." Eventually, six members of the police secret service were given life sentences.

In 1986, security forces discovered 80 tons of weapons at the tiny fishing harbor of Carrizal Bajo, smuggled into the country by the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR), the armed branch of the outlawed Communist Party, created in 1983. The shipment of Carrizal Bajo included C-4 plastic explosives, RPG-7 and M72 LAW rocket launchers as well as more than three thousand M-16 rifles. The operation was overseen by Cuban intelligence, and also involved East Germany and the Soviet Union.

In September, weapons from the same source were used in an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Pinochet by the FPMR. Taken by surprise, five of his military bodyguards were killed. Although Pinochet's Mercedes Benz bulletproof vehicle was struck by a rocket, it did not explode, and Pinochet suffered only minor injuries, managing to escape.

It would appear that either Chile would be ruled by a military junta or communists from other nations.

By the way, Chile is now ruled by a democratically elected givernment.

 

[sr71plt]

The concept of Allende deposing himself is certainly a novel one.