From: "John K. Taber" <jktaber at dhc.net>
> One excuse for privatizing Social Security has been argued
> by Feldstein, which is to increase savings. Our "poor" savings
> rate was his worry in a 1975 article on Social Security in the
> _Public Interest_.
<snip>
> Also, I remember Doug Henwood saying that we have more capital
> than we know what to do with, thus money is thrown at high risk
> ventures all over the globe.
>
> So, my question is two-fold. How seriously can Social Security
> be figured as present value? And second, are our capitalists
> so starved for cash they need Social Security, as Feldstein's
> arguments would imply?
> How about it, Max and Doug?
Of course they are. Many people pulling down multi-million dollar bonuses will sweat like crazy to pull them down next year, even though they have enough to retire on.
And this is far, far better than money which has to be earned in a market, competing with other smart, tough individuals. This will be taken from us and given to them. You *know* that the commissions on a privatized Social Security systme will be a lot fatter than competitive commissions on money in the market.
Barry