tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post3638520828911870827..comments2024-03-28T19:48:01.698-04:00Comments on Social Security News: Privatized Chilean Social Security System Not Working So Well These DaysUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-46848097007230466982016-08-21T02:01:57.432-04:002016-08-21T02:01:57.432-04:00@10:50 and 1:56
The issue in this thread is priva...@10:50 and 1:56<br /><br />The issue in this thread is privatization of Social Security. I think most people realize that the remaining presidential candidates have a lot of negative baggage in general. No need to get on a soapbox about that here. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-39866745940014194792016-08-20T13:56:46.931-04:002016-08-20T13:56:46.931-04:00FOR WHAT the pols do like the Clinton's (I'...FOR WHAT the pols do like the Clinton's (I'm a lifelong democrat) have done, would it be for anyone else, they would be in jail just for the smell or appearance of the connections and contributions they've taken and then got approved by Obama. The Clinton's HAVE DONE MORE DAMAGE to the American people than even the tea party, which is my belief. It is no wonder that now ALL we have for both parties is reckless and ruthless.<br />Any politician who uses the American people's money for investment on the thieving Wall st. Ponzi schemers, ought to be in jail as should the Clinton's A LONG TIME AGO. Her coming from my hometown... she learned quick how to help rig the system for herself;(. How many mobsters lived in her suburb?<br />I'll be writing in MY vote for a person who actually has the record in helping people. So are many others. Let the games begin!<br />God help those of us who worked our fannies off and barely living on the meager SSA benefits the pols eked out for us, even though it is our money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-73525862313306193532016-08-20T10:50:50.259-04:002016-08-20T10:50:50.259-04:007:29 AM Do you mean like the $145 million donate...7:29 AM Do you mean like the $145 million donated to the Clinton Foundation from Uranium One board members right before they sold the company to the Russian government? The sale was approved by the Obama administration soon after, meaning Russia controls 20 percent of the US uranium reserves! These are just some of many "donations" to the Clinton Foundation.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01430141227801711657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-59109775573825531512016-08-20T07:29:43.863-04:002016-08-20T07:29:43.863-04:00If you ever wonder whether a politician is deep in...If you ever wonder whether a politician is deep in the pockets of the big banks and willing to sell out their constituents' best interests for a relatively paltry brib...[cough] I mean campaign contribution, ask them their position on privatization of Social Security. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-34781128489618893512016-08-20T04:10:28.684-04:002016-08-20T04:10:28.684-04:00One commenter noted that if the Trust Fund had bee... One commenter noted that if the Trust Fund had been invested in the stock market instead of US Bonds, it would have done better over the last ten years. Maybe. I haven't checked the numbers for that segment but as others have noted, there have also been times it has done worse. Stocks are more of a risk than bonds, especially US bonds, and it is for that reason that pension funds, private or public, never invest more than a small percentage of their funds that way. <br /><br />But that kind of privatization ignores the fact that it was Republicans, not Democrats, that opposed that investment choice for a small part of the Trust Fund when Clinton proposed doing just that. The idea was that the US Government investing many Billions or even Trillions in the Stock Market meant the US Government was buying up private assets. They called this Socialism. In this case, they were actually closer to correct than their usual claims of Socialism. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-88727671460948126042016-08-19T19:51:05.842-04:002016-08-19T19:51:05.842-04:00"The World Bank determined that fees charged ..."The World Bank determined that fees charged by those favored investment firms consumed fully half the pension contributions of the average worker retiring in 2000. The government surplus disappeared, and those outsized stock market gains faded away."<br /><br />Wow! Think about how great this will be for the guys on Wall Street. <br /><br />The difference between myself and my conservative friends is that I support the free market but they WORSHIP the free market. They just lack any ability to distinguish between areas where the market works well and where it does not. I was happy to see the federal government ending what is a really bad idea - private prisons. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-53328687029050560262016-08-19T16:22:33.727-04:002016-08-19T16:22:33.727-04:00@10:45
The purpose of the social security trust f...@10:45<br /><br />The purpose of the social security trust funds is not to provide a good return on investment, but rather to provide financial assistance to individuals who are incapable of sufficiently providing for themselves either due to disability or natural aging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-85973389110027162102016-08-19T16:07:45.188-04:002016-08-19T16:07:45.188-04:00Those of you advocating privatization are grifters...Those of you advocating privatization are grifters trying to sucker in the American public by appealing to their greed! When the Bush-43 administration was pushing for "privatization," a sobering event occurred--remember Enron and the bursting of the tech bubble? Suddenly, all those free-market conservatives realized what would have happened to their retirement if SSA had been "privatized."<br /><br />It's my understanding that when you pay FICA, it all goes into benefits and not "overhead" or operating funds.<br /><br />The "Trust fund" is now about 2.8 Trillion dollars. Typical brokerage fees for maintaining and managing accounts run 1-2% per year. My retirement investments are paying the brokerage firm 1.5% per year. 2 per cent of 2.8 trillion comes out to 56 BILLION per year in brokerage fees. That is why we're hearing so much about privatization!<br /><br />Additionally, paying FICA to SSA gets eligibility for a disability program. Proponents of privatization forget to mention that program, which I'm sure would be slashed, if not eliminated under a privatized plan.<br /><br />All you free marketers go ahead and privatize your funds, I'll choose the dependable SSA programs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-46620247586663170832016-08-19T15:38:30.301-04:002016-08-19T15:38:30.301-04:00It has performed that well, but for long periods w...It has performed that well, but for long periods within that long history it has tanked. And if the gov't is as good about socking away (i.e., actually leaving cash on hand) big gains in the fat times as they have been with trust funds, a privatized system would run into a huge crisis with the first major stock market drop and we would have another "Congress needs to come up with a lot of money out of the general fund because we didn't save SSA money like idiots" situation, and guess how deeply Congress would dig to keep payments flowing as normal? Not hard--they would slash benefits or otherwise make SSA or beneficiaries pay for their failure to play the long game and stash when they're flush.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-89674922909128081832016-08-19T12:39:59.301-04:002016-08-19T12:39:59.301-04:00The stock market is rigged in favor of those in th...The stock market is rigged in favor of those in the know, nothing more than legalized gambling. To trust any government program to the stock market would only line the pockets of Wall Street and their cronies.<br />Social Security is an insurance program, not a piggy-bank for Wall Street.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-7572597013845249732016-08-19T10:45:42.460-04:002016-08-19T10:45:42.460-04:00The US S&P index is up about 68% over the last...The US S&P index is up about 68% over the last 10 years, so any trust fund dollars invested in that way would have far outperformed US treasuries and the trust fund would be in better shape. Is there risk, sure, but we should not completely rule out the stock market when looking for solutions for this very complex and important problem. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-89685474865351919692016-08-19T06:11:08.399-04:002016-08-19T06:11:08.399-04:00What the privatization proponents don't get is...What the privatization proponents don't get is the "Security" part of Social Security. Making it a defined government benefit is secure. Privatizing means more broke and homeless seniors with more money lining the pockets of rich investment bankers. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com