What do you think about increasing Social Security benefits?

I just saw an interview with the economist James K. Galbraith on Bill Moyer’s jornal. With the economy in recession and teetering on depression, there is talk of another round of demand stimulus.

One of the problems with the bailiout is that it goes toward financial institutions and doesn’t really put money in people’s pockets. Also, if you have people worrying if they can pay their mortgages, they will be inclined to rein in their spending, causing the economy to contract. I saw today that the FDIC is considering using about $40 to $50 billion of the $700 bilion bailout to help the 2–3 million who still face foreclosure by covering the cost of any concessions lenders may have to give up in renegotiating people’s loans on more favorable terms.

But there are also a lot of retired people who lost out in the stock market, so there is talk of doing something for them too. One thing on the table is a permanent increase in Social Security benefits. Apparently, the $600 that everyone got last year was apparently a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed to sustain purchasing power at levels high enough to reverse the downward spiral of declining sales and layoffs. (There have been about 800,000 layoffs so far this year.)