Comments on: Social Security is a conservative concept… https://habitablezone.com/2014/01/07/social-security-is-a-conservative-concept/ Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:51:39 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2014/01/07/social-security-is-a-conservative-concept/#comment-29363 ER Thu, 09 Jan 2014 13:11:26 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=42163#comment-29363 "Private investment plans" had little public confidence in 1930. Too many families were wiped out by the bank crashes during the Depression, not to mention the collapse of the stock market. I would imagine insurance was not able to meet its obligations either, because private financial organizations tend to raid their lock-boxes too. The reason we have SS was precisely because unregulated, laissez faire private investment failed. And it failed due to private mismanagement. Remember what happened when Mr Bush tried to privatize Social Security? The events of just a few years later demonstrated the lack of public confidence in that plan was perfectly justified. I have a feeling the same thing would have happened to private savings in 2008 if it hadn't been for the government bail-out. Sure, if you had "stayed put" in the market right after the Bush Recession you would have made out like a bandit, but can you say that would have happened without massive government intervention? “Private investment plans” had little public confidence in 1930. Too many families were wiped out by the bank crashes during the Depression, not to mention the collapse of the stock market. I would imagine insurance was not able to meet its obligations either, because private financial organizations tend to raid their lock-boxes too. The reason we have SS was precisely because unregulated, laissez faire private investment failed. And it failed due to private mismanagement.

Remember what happened when Mr Bush tried to privatize Social Security? The events of just a few years later demonstrated the lack of public confidence in that plan was perfectly justified.

I have a feeling the same thing would have happened to private savings in 2008 if it hadn’t been for the government bail-out. Sure, if you had “stayed put” in the market right after the Bush Recession you would have made out like a bandit, but can you say that would have happened without massive government intervention?

]]> By: FrankC https://habitablezone.com/2014/01/07/social-security-is-a-conservative-concept/#comment-29360 FrankC Thu, 09 Jan 2014 09:48:58 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=42163#comment-29360 Between private retirement and SS, I am able to live decently. I did not save or invest well enough to reach the critical mass that the guy on the radio used to talk about and without SS, I would be on hard times. Government enforced savings is more than just a good idea, it is an absolute necessity. I just can't get past the fact that the dollars saved and invested in a conservative private investment fund would have provided a far greater return. I have never seen a projection that shows otherwise. SS was a source of revenue for many years but it is now an almost hopeless burden. We would not have this problem if the savings had really been in a lock box and left to grow without the Govt. dipping into the till. Maybe we would still have some problems with low income savers, but the fact remains that we would have a larger pool to draw on. It seems that most liberals believe that somehow citizens would find a way to deplete their private investment fund before retirement. With strong Govt, oversight, I don't see how that could have happened. Somebody please explain to me why what we have would not be better under a private investment plan. I believe that the government wanted full access to SS revenue and that is the reason private investment was not considered. Between private retirement and SS, I am able to live decently. I did not save or invest well enough to reach the critical mass that the guy on the radio used to talk about and without SS, I would be on hard times.

Government enforced savings is more than just a good idea, it is an absolute necessity. I just can’t get past the fact that the dollars saved and invested in a conservative private investment fund would have provided a far greater return. I have never seen a projection that shows otherwise.

SS was a source of revenue for many years but it is now an almost hopeless burden. We would not have this problem if the savings had really been in a lock box and left to grow without the Govt. dipping into the till. Maybe we would still have some problems with low income savers, but the fact remains that we would have a larger pool to draw on.

It seems that most liberals believe that somehow citizens would find a way to deplete their private investment fund before retirement. With strong Govt, oversight, I don’t see how that could have happened.

Somebody please explain to me why what we have would not be better under a private investment plan. I believe that the government wanted full access to SS revenue and that is the reason private investment was not considered.

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2014/01/07/social-security-is-a-conservative-concept/#comment-29353 ER Thu, 09 Jan 2014 02:40:40 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=42163#comment-29353 Yeah, but business REALLY needed those numbers. Yeah, but business REALLY needed those numbers.

]]> By: bowser https://habitablezone.com/2014/01/07/social-security-is-a-conservative-concept/#comment-29351 bowser Thu, 09 Jan 2014 02:10:28 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=42163#comment-29351 An interesting fact is that the last votes to pass it were garnered with the promise that Social Security Numbers would NEVER be used to identify people. Privacy concerns. An interesting fact is that the last votes to pass it were garnered with the promise that Social Security Numbers would NEVER be used to identify people. Privacy concerns.

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