Bait & switch..that's my SS PLan..G Dumbya Bush

[fishface]

Participants Would Forfeit Part of Accounts' Profits

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 3, 2005; Page A13

Under the White House Social Security plan, workers who opt to divert some of their payroll taxes into individual accounts would ultimately get to keep only the investment returns that exceed the rate of return that the money would have accrued in the traditional system.

The mechanism, detailed by a senior administration official before President Bush's State of the Union address, would hold down the cost of Bush's plan to introduce personal accounts to the Social Security system. But it could come as a surprise to lawmakers and voters who have thought of these accounts as akin to an individual retirement account or a 401(k) that they could use fully upon retirement.


"You'll be able to pass along the money that accumulates in your personal account, if you wish, to your children . . . or grandchildren," Bush said last night. "And best of all, the money in the account is yours, and the government can never take it away."

The plan is more complicated. Under the proposal, workers could invest as much as 4 percent of their wages subject to Social Security taxation in a limited assortment of stock, bond and mixed-investment funds. But the government would keep and administer that money. Upon retirement, workers would then be given any money that exceeded inflation-adjusted gains over 3 percent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59136-2005Feb2.html

[liberalnurse]

1. Bait and Switch has been *bush's

predictable M.O. I am simply dumbfounded at how many times it works for this carnie.

[fishface]

2. Pre-election studies showed that morons were his best

chance to get elected.

With so many people still buying the Bushit that he sells,

I'm forced to say that the studies have been validated.

[salin]

3. er... the title down plays the reality.

1) The govt keeps the entire investment (put in $1,000 a year for 40 years - THEY keep the 40,000 not a cent gets passed on to your family - a bit line bush keeps spouting)
2) The govt keeps the earnings - inflation adjusted gains - up to 3%.

Reality = good chance that one has an account that stays positive (no losses) but doesn't pay off a penny AND they keep the initial investment.


Impact = those who divert to private accounts shrink the payouts for ALL social security recipients; and those who divert only get a PORTION (the amount not diverted to private accounts) of the now SMALLER payouts (due to people divert money into the system)... so they give $40,000 for the ability to recieve GREATLY REDUCED ss payouts. This is a very likely scenario.

Who would invest where you LOSE the investment, only get a payoff when earnings are above 3% and then only get to keep a part of that payoff (that above 3%)?

Fool's Gold Social Security.