During the seven fat years, Pharaoh taxed the people at the rate of twenty percent to fill his storehouses with grain. Then, during the seven years of famines, he did not simply return the people's grain to them, but instead used the grain to reduce the people to bondage. Today, we call this Social Security. The purpose of Social Security should be to secure financial independence and even wealth for all those who work regularly, not to convert those who work into government dependents upon their retirement. -- Dr. Clifford F. Thies, Eldon R. Lindsay Chair of Free Enterprise
Professor of Economics and Finance, Shenandoah University

by Eric Dondero

Our conservative Republican friends may be a bit too timid to admit to it, but we Libertarians inside the Republican Party will say straight out, loudly and boldly, that Yes, We Do Want to Fully Privatize Social Security!

From The Hill, "Dems plan to attack GOP on Social Security," Aug. 9:

House Democrats are planning more than 100 events around this week’s anniversary of Social Security to attack Republicans who want to reform the popular entitlement.

Democrats and interest groups on the left have scheduled “birthday parties” and other events to highlight Saturday’s 75th anniversary of the program signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt.

A Democratic leadership aide said Republicans are “highly vulnerable” on both Social Security and Medicare.

“This is a party that said they want Medicare to wither on the vine and want to privatize Social Security,” the aide said.

Burn your Social Security Card!

Curiously, in the entire piece there's no mention whatsoever of the Libertarian Party which advocates in their platform complete privatization.

From LP.org:

Libertarians believe you should be able to opt out of Social Security and invest your money in your own personal retirement account. An account that you own and control - one that politicians can't get their hands on.

Republicans and Democrats say it can't be done - that your Social Security taxes are needed to pay benefits to today's retirees. Instead of letting you invest in your own future, they want you to have faith that someone else will pay your benefits when it comes time for you to retire.

Although most won't admit it publicly, their "solutions" to the Social Security crises all come down to some combination of tax increases and benefit cuts.

Libertarians know that there's a better way.

Countries like Chile, Mexico, Britain, and Australia have successfully made the transition from their failed Social Security systems to healthy systems based on individual retirement accounts.

The Libertarian Party even went so far as to sponsor nationwide rallies in the 1980s to burn Social Security cards, and urge its members to drop out of the S.S. system.

Republicans gain Libertarian voters with boldness; not bland pastels

So here we have the Libertarian Party criticizing Republicans for not backing real Social Security privatization.

And if you think the LP is "fringe," consider for a moment their candidate for US Senate in North Carolina is currently polling between 8 to 10%.

But of course, the Dems can't attack the Libertarian Party. They have to portray the Republican Party as the "extremist Privatizers."

The Republican Party needs to not only appeal to moderate Centrists, but the libertarian swing voter, as well. Libertarians are not pacified by namby pamby proposals of soft reform, or tinkering around the edges.

A bold Republican stance for full privatization of Social Security and other failed government programs will undoubtably attract that hardcore libertarian vote. Without such boldness, the Republican candidate is likely to loose 3, 4 or 5% or maybe even like North Carolina with a strong articulate Libertarian candidate on the ballot, as much as 8 to 10% of the vote on their libertarian flank.

The job of us libertarian Republicans is to help the GOP appeal to that flank.

So, go ahead Democrats. Keep playing up the "Republicans want to Privatize Social Security" line. You only make our job much more easier.

Dr. Thies is a longtime Republican, former National Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, and currently Senior Editor of Libertarian Republican. Eric Dondero is a former Senior Aide to US Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), 1997-2003.