RE: Why should Social Security reform happen now? Response to Rep Becerra.

[Javier Jimenez <jimenj@yahoo.com>]

>>>>>>>>>>Charlie Hoyt wrote:
Javier,
What you want is to destroy social security!  You don't want to
"reform".  You want to destroy.  Social Security is not welfare!
This idea is preposterous.  Social security is the most successful
social program in American history.  It has worked for 40 years
and now you and your fellow investment bankers or whatever you are
want to destroy it.  You amaze me.  The only thing that comforts
me is that you won't succeed.  You and Bill Gates and Milton Friedman
are in the minority, and the working people of America will never
allow you to destroy the system they depend upon.  I urge America
to stand up to this assault on Social Security.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

If SS has been so successful, why is it that it has needed so many
fixes and law changes?  Taxes increase on a yearly basis since
1983, and now there is the threat of reduction in benefits, means
testings, and raising the age to 70 for qualifying for benefits.
If these are the signs of a successful retirement system, then why
don't we all tell the government to stop the IRA, 401K, 403b, etc
and put all of our money into SS? You have to be totally blind to
not realize that there are far better alternatives.  For instance,
a plain vanilla savings account at you local hostile bank, or your
friendly credit union will yield between 1.75 and 2%; as it stands
today, that is a far better return than what I or anyone in my
genereation can ever expect from SS.  Now for the big guns, have
you ever heard of SPSP; probably not, since you're only thinking
about how to spend that fat SS check you'll be receiving when you
retire, or checking the balance of your SS account as it accrues
interest and capital gains, or feeling too removed because you know
that if you were to become disabled, like a good neighbor, SS will
be there to care of you, yeah right!  Back to SPSP, SPSP is the
defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plan enjoyed
by the workers of the city of San Diego.  When they retire or become
disabled, their benefits are about 3 times better than those enjoyed
by your fellow retiree americans and disabled americans on SS; you
see, they opted out of SS before the Fed realized that little by
little able groups opted out.  The concensus among participants of
this programs is the same, good luck to you on SS, I am set for
life.  Why? because unlike you and I, their money is working for
them not for your friendly liberal politician.  Sure with privatization,
the Fidelitys and Prudentials of the world will rake in the dough,
but so will I, and so could you, if you don't decide to stick around
in your world class retirement system.  As a piece of advice, if
you ever get to invest your money, pick one of my fellow investment
bankers' stocks, so that some of the money they rake in trickles
into your pocket for your old age; then you can thank me at
jimenj@yahoo.com.  By the way, learn your facts before you yap, SS
has been around for over 65 years, about retirement age isn't it?
and it began solely as an old-age pension for retired workers, not
the charity and welfare system it is today.  Back to the matter at
hand, Privatization will not destroy anything; it will rebuild a
pay-as-you go unfunded system into a full-funded individually owned
savings and investment system.  People will be required to save
and invest THEIR money in a way they feel confortable with (i.e.
bank CDs, money market funds, corporate or government bond funds,
income stock funds, growth stock funds, etc) Get the point, nothing
fancy, investment 101 type deals that will earn us a better, freer
and more secure retirement away from government dependence.  With
the money from the payroll tax, workers can buy disability insurance
from a government regulated private insurance company, as well as
Life Insurance.  You see, everybody is covered, the workers during
their retirement years, the workers during a disability, and the
workers' surviving family in the event of death.  Workers own the
capital in their accounts so not only do the workers achieve a
secure retirement, but their heirs inherit something tangible that
will provide for their financial security.