Replying to a message of Bob Klahn to Roy Witt:

 TW>>>>> They WHY are the Liberals Sweating Bullets and
puling out theri
 RW>>>> hair
 TW>>>>> over how to "SAVE" Social Secutriy which
is bacicly bankrupt
 RW>>>> whith
 TW>>>>> only TWO perople paying in to suport the system?"?

 RW>>>> Make that two people paying in to support one recipient. In a few
 RW>>>> years, that number will be going up, 3:1...

 TW>>> Since the Teend of those qualifying to draw it just HOW can the
 TW>>> number paying in GO UP??

 RW>> I reversed my ratio...it should read 1:3 and it's already
 RW>> here.

 RW>> "Those who want to overhaul Social Security make their case
 RW>> with the following numbers: in 1960 there were more than
 RW>> five workers for each beneficiary; today there are 3.3
 RW>> workers; by 2030 there will be only two workers for each
 RW>> beneficiary."

 BK>  In 1960 the index of productivity for business was 52.61, in
 BK>  2005 it was 136.6. That is an increase of just under 260%.

 BK>  For 3.3 workers per recipient that's a burden of 30% per worker.  For
 BK> 5 workers per recipient that's a burden of 20% per worker.

 BK>  The increase in burden from 5 per recipient to 3.3 per recipient  is
 BK> 50%.

 BK>  50% increase in burden, 260% increase in productivity.

 BK>  Just running some quick numbers from the Stat Ab.

 BK>  Increasing productivity can balance decreasing numbers of
 BK>  workers... however...

 BK>  Industry is where productivity increases most easily. And
 BK>  industry is leaving the country.

I get a honk out of your fixation on productivity.  AAMOF, one can
be efficient as h*ll and productive as h*ll and neither accomplish nor
make anything of value - or FTM anything at all.  But one is very
efficient at doing it.  IMO it's a pretty much meaningless measure.

There are thousands of jobs in this country that could be abolished
overnight and affect only those who lost them - IOW would have *no*
effect on production or productivity.  For example, *all* jobs connected
in any way with the Internet.  Those employed in those jobs are no
doubt very productive and very efficient at them, but they're also very
unnecessary.

--- FleetStreet 1.19+