How does the Supreme Court ruling impact Social Security? I do not mean Medicare or Medicaid but the status of Social Security. The Nation is touted this victory and gives their assessment:
Instead, the most obvious example of a politically plausible federal proposal that is now out of bounds, at least under the Commerce Clause, is a federal mandate to purchase a private retirement account in lieu of Social Security. That is, the most plausible effect of the Commerce Clause part of the Court’s decision is to make certain privatization policies—ones that Republicans have generally favored—likely unconstitutional. I suspect this ironic consequence is not one that any of the conservative justices thought hard about.
We will have to see if currently exempted employees, clergy and municipalities will now be forced to participate in this system. If Obama gets reelected, the next step will be a merger of Medicaid, Medicare and federally funded healthcare. This will eliminate the states’ plan to nullify or pass an amendment to overturn the legislation. After this combination, expect private retirement accounts to be merged with social security over a short period of time in an effort to keep Social Security solvent. This will also allow the unions and municipalities to transfer their underfunded retirement plans to the taxpayers.
David DeGerolamo
