This is how you motivate Donkeys and People. And these techniques are not foreign to those who are trying to convince America to accept President Bush's Social Security Phase Out Plan. We've talked a lot about the stick, i.e. that Social Security has no hope of surviving and will bankrupt the treasury. So let's talk about the carrot.
The carrot is that these private accounts will give Americans a lot more money. That's the promise. The promise does not take into account set up costs and administrative costs which will be paid for, one way or another, by the American people.
The other problem is summed up in this line from Ms. Star Parker's latest article on Social Security reform. ". . . the fact is that investing over 40 years in a highly diversified fund of stocks and bonds is not a risky endeavor." And there's the rub.
This is generally true, but it raises any number of questions. For one thing low risk does not mean no risk, and the truth is that some people will definitely get it in the shorts. What are we going to do about that? (That's the cue for the right wing to murmur about personal responsibility)
A second question concerns what options are going to be available under this privitization plan? And will American citizens be able to take advantage to them to the fullest extent? Will their be training to let first time investors figure out how best to use this set up? (That's the cue for the right wing to grumble about Democrats not trusting the people)
One further question. This is Star Parker talking. A few weeks ago she wrote about how she wanted to see Social Security shut down entirely. Has she had a change of heart? Or does she see President Bush's privitization plan as akin to her desire to shut it down entirely?
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