Nathan Newman wrote:
> The appeal of any kind of private savings account is that people feel they
> keep the proceeds of any speculative surplus. That is how they are sold and
> why they have some justifiable popularity. Because Social Security has been
> being used to cover other spending deficits, people have the sense that they
> at best will get the defined benefits promised without any speculative gains
> which were instead used for other purposes.
And that's why people are receptive to the privatizers? I don't think so. According to the polls, it's fear of losing the defined benefits, not greed for the speculative gains, that sells people on privatization. Assure them the promised benefits will be paid, and a large majority--65 percent in the Peter Hart poll in front of me--support leaving the system unchanged.
Josh