Friday, September 17, 2010

How about this for a stimulus?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/16/los-angeles-official-disappointed-city-used-stimulus-funds/?test=latestnews

Now, it is obvious to me that the Obama administration is just pissing away billions in inefficient "stimuli."

Here's a thought. Maybe the way to create more jobs is to eliminate more jobs.

Suppose that for all of 2011 and 2012, we allow folks to retire with full Social Security benefits a year earlier than they are now able to. So, if your current "normal retirement" age was 65 and you were not turning 65 until sometime in 2012, you could retire a year earlier than you had expected, at 64, in 2011.

The extra cost could be funded with the remaining allocated but as yet unexpended stimulus funds.

If perhaps a few million baby boomers retire a year early, there will be promotions from within the organizations they left and room for new employees at the bottom.

There might well be a real estate impact as retirees downsize and/or move south, etc.

They might also take some of that money and give all current Social Security recipients a one-time, 5% COLA in 2011. That money would almost never be saved, but spent in the economy almost immediately.

What do you think?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

AMEN (I know that is a religious remark, but just get over it).

Jay Moreno said...

It has long since become part of the secular vernacular. I use it myself all the time.

Glad you like the idea.