Re: Privatization

["Marv. Rohrs" <rohrsm@asme.org>]

Re:  Privatization

If it is decided that the "Solution" is to partially privatize
 and give each individual his own investment account (a concept
 with which I fully agree), I become extremely uncomfortable 
with the thought of our "friendly, fair and unbiased" Federal
 Government lifetime bureaucrats having control of the actual 
investing.  You KNOW that, at some point, someone will decide 
to invest the funds in selected fields or companies so as to 
"social engineer" our society -- without regard to maximizing 
the return, or even getting a decent return.  It would be 
absolutely essential that the individual be able to control the 
investment of his or her funds -- within certain guidelines, of 
course, to prevent the taking of unreasonable risks.  Those 
guidelines should be firm rules that could be changed only by a 
two thirds majority vote in Congress.

I have seen several references to one of the benefits of 
privatization being that one could leave the balance of the 
account to heirs.  Not without changing the "death tax".  But 
that would require a significant change in attitude of those 
who want to push us further into a socialist system.  Actually, 
the "death tax" should be eliminated.  Its purpose obviously is 
to prevent the transfer of accumulations of wealth to one's 
heirs.  However, it fails to do that for extremely wealthy 
individuals, as they are the ones who have the tax lawyers and 
accountants who can circumvent the law.  It is the in-between, 
middle income individuals who get trapped by the tax law and are 
penalized.