"The bill opens the door and invites the entrance into the political field of a power so vast, so powerful as to threaten the integrity of our institutions and to pull the pillars of the temple down upon the heads of our descendents." Not an attack on healthcare reform, it's what a New York congressman said 75 years ago about Social Security. President Roosevelt's proposal was branded as one that would establish a government bureaucracy that would drive private insurance companies out of business. Is there a lesson here for President Obama? Nancy Altman is author of The Battle for Social Security: From FDR's Vision to Bush's Gamble.
