Before the government can give anything, it must first take it away

Is it social security or social welfare. I think the younger generations of Americans will be a much smaller burden on society if they can use the money accumulated in private accounts to suppliment any retirement income.

Social Secutiry uses the largest portion of the federal taxes WE send to Washington. The more our country ages the worse it will get. With life expectancies getting longer every year, you can only assume that there will be more and more people to try to support as time goes on. When these payouts began, the qualifying age was 60 and the average life expectancy was 62. Someone my age will have to wait until 67 to receive benefits, but my life expectancy is now 77.6. That gives me decent odds of collecting benefits under the current system for 10 years, at a greater cost to the generation that will be paying for me. If we have private accounts everyone could use the money that they put in themselves to provide their own support.

Some people talk about how much more risk there is in the stock market. But recent studies have shown that the average rate of return on social security is currently 2-3%. The average rate of return in the "risky" stock market (including the great depression) is 11.5%. Seems to me that the greater risk to my retirement is 2-3%. At least let me invest a portion of my own money in the stock market, via an index fund, individual stocks, or a selection of mutual funds.

The reason I say only a portion is because we have promised the people in our country that are close to retirement that they will get benefits. Once those people are no longer getting benefits (ie. dead) then the time has come for 100% private accounts, or no benefits at all. People need to be held accountable for their own retirement but that will be another blog later. Either you plan for it before hand, hope your children can take care of you, or work until the day you go on to your great reward.

Have a great day and think about your retirement. Please don't be a burden yourself. Nothing in life is free, someone has to pay for it, don't make your grandchildren do it.

On a higher mountain, Under a bluer sky
Hurricane Bob