Save a job – retire earlier! Duh!

Representative Dennis Kucinich (Democrat – Ohio) is on the media circuit promoting his rather novel idea on how to “create” jobs for younger people who are trying to enter the work force but can’t because of the recession.

The Congressman has proposed legislation that would allow people to take voluntary early retirement at age 60 instead of age 62, as the law now stands.

Kucinich, who ran for the Democratic nomination for President in both 2004 and 2008, estimates that about 25% of those eligible to retire at age 62, or about 1 million people, would choose to take early retirement under his plan. He claims that this is a conservative estimate, since about 70% of those who can retire at 62 do so now.

These early retirees would, of course, collect social security earlier, after having worked fewer years and contributed less to Social Security. And then we’d have to assume that these workers would be replaced by the younger people now looking.  And that they would generate the same tax revenues for the government that the early retirees did.

What a plan!  Lock in higher costs, with no guarantee of any benefits.  This is the kind of logic that put the U.S. into this pickle in the first place.

How does Mr.  Kucinich propose to pay for this plan?  Why, with government funds, of course!  Specifically, with the “extra” unspent stimulus and TARP funds.  This, despite the fact that he has spoken repeatedly about voting against the TARP funds because he opposes government interference in the private economy. But, hey, he goes on to say, “Since the money is lying around anyway, let’s use it!”  You’d think tax revenues fall out of the sky!

I do not know which is worse, the hypocrisy or the ignorance.  What folly! This man has absolutely no business talking about how to create jobs when he has no idea how the economy actually works.

Here’s an idea that is guaranteed to help the economy recover.  Why doesn’tMr. Kucinich take voluntary early retirement!

By Sherry Jarrell