Last year, President Bush decided that Social Security was in crisis and only the mercy and equality created by the stock market could save it, the very same stock market that crashed in 1929, leading to the creation of the program in the first place. Then, along came a focus group and a blog which helped the administration realize the term "crisis" was a bit strong, but they could still scare some people with big numbers and paid-off journalists touting "serious long term problems."
Social Security came into being after so many Americans lost most or all of their investments in corporations following the stock market crash of 1929, and the thinking behind Social Security was to have a program that was social, in that it was paid for by all working Americans and available to any citizen who needed it at the time of retirement or disability and that it would provide security by providing a safety net in times of need. It was never designed to be an exhaustive retirement plan, and to expect it to be that is unrealistic. Unfortunately, many seniors now use it as such, and they certainly find the benefits to be much lower than they actually need for enjoyable retirement.
Bush plans to solve this by allowing individuals limited access to invest "their" Social Security funds through a "personal account" in order to supplement their retirement. The problem is the funds that would be needed for these accounts are already earmarked as someone else's benefits, so the money needed to fuel these personal accounts, some two TRILLION dollars over the next decade, would have to be borrowed just to start this program. Of course, there are no guarantees when it comes to investments; some companies prosper, some companies fail, some companies fail while telling you they prosper. Imagine if people had used their "personal accounts" to invest in Enron, Tyco or WorldCom: their money would be gone, with no safety net to spare them from the loss. In this plan, the success of your retirement is based on the integrity and honesty of a corporation's executives. Do you trust Ken Lay to look out for your golden years?
Of course it sounds great to invest your social security benefits and allow that money to work for you, and of course personal responsibility is always in style, so why not invest some of the other 87.6 percent of your pay that isn't going into Social Security? Why only use the money from this program? If you want to create a "personal account" for investments, no one is stopping you. In fact, most people create their first savings accounts around age 11, when they start mowing lawns or babysitting. If people want to invest, they can and should, but not at the expense of one of the most successful government programs in history and not when risking their safety net. Doing so is tantamount to using your paycheck on lottery tickets in hopes of a bigger payday; of course big rewards are possible, but you can't count on it. Perhaps it just doesn't fit with our "me first" culture, but doesn't the idea of working together as a social community to provide security for our elderly and disabled still make you proud to be an American?
Write to Robb at robb614@aol.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
