Text 9338, 74 rader
Skriven 2005-02-26 17:01:00 av LEE LOFASO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av THURSTON ACKERMAN
Ärende: Re: If It Ain't Broke
=============================
Hello Thurston,

TA>->snipped<-

>LL>Social security was created by FDR and his Democratic-controlled
>LL>Congress.  Medicare was created by LBJ and his Democratic-controlled
>LL>Congress.  I'd say that qualifies as being the Democrats' baby.  ;)

>EC>The Democrats want it to be theirs, but they demand that the rest of
>EC>us turn over our earings to them.  That's what they are up in arms
>EC>about.  That and their just opposing Bush for its own sake.

>LL>The Democrats want social security to be everybody's program.  Not just
>LL>a program for the rich, or the poor.  Rather, a program for everybody.

>EC>It is astounding how someone can look at the performance of the stock
>EC>market over many years and compare that with the "benefit" of turning
>EC>earnings over to politicians and still make such a claim.  I will put
>EC>it like this.  Let's look and see where the unions invest workers'
>EC>pension funds when they are not scamming it for the union big-wigs.
>EC>Do they sink it into government bonds or do they invest it in the
>EC>stock market?

>LL>Playing the stock market is akin to playing russian roulette.

>EC>No one is talking about "playing" the stock market except you.  I'm ta
>EC>about investing, and the track record for investing is good, much bett
>EC>than the return on Social Security as loved by you Democrats.

>LL>Bush's private investment scheme is not a very good investment for
>LL>anybody.  Except maybe Wall Street brokers.

>LL>Maybe you win, probably not.

>EC>And why do you say that?  The record is there for anyone with a half-b
>EC>to see.  Of course, that overlooks the point that no one is forced to
>EC>his earnings in the stock market.  If this is voted in will you spend
>EC>trying to convince hard working Americans not to trust their earnings
>EC>stock market?  Right.

TA>As a card carrying registered Democrat I more generally  find
TA>these discussions more blindly politically driven than factual.
TA>I have been retired for over 20 years now. We finalized our income
TA>tax reports yesterday and I noted we had received 50% more income
TA>from our private pension plan than from our social security payments
TA>(even before the deductions made for Medicare 8-(. After signing the
TA>reports and writeing our check I took a look at our investment basis
TA>and found we had invested less than 60% in our private retirement
TA>pension than we had invested in Social Security.

That's nice.  And there is nothing wrong with private retirement
pensions.  However, FDR set up a social insurance program, not an
annuity program for individual retirement needs.

TA>Though we haven't discussed dollars and cents details, I am
TA>reasonably sure most of my cohorts have had a similar experience.
TA>And I was a medical electronics engineer, not a wall street guru.
TA>I don't think the average American should be deplicated as some
TA>dunderhead who can't think for his own best interests.

In the old days, children took care of their elderly parents.
Today, the elderly are able to take care of themselves, thanks
to social security.  Bush wants to end that, in hopes of going
back to the good ol' days.  And if he is successful, America
will become just like third world countries, which have no
social insurance program.  Unless one calls children a social
insurance program.

--Lee


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