Kerry Warns of Privatized Social Security

[Zorra]

WASHINGTON - Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) accused President Bush (news - web sites) on Sunday of planning a surprise second-term effort to privatize Social Security (news - web sites) and forecast a "disaster for America's middle class."
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Bush has long advocated overhauling Social Security to allow younger workers the choice of putting a portion of their payroll taxes into private accounts.
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But implicit in any such modification is the need either to replace or offset the money that will begin flowing to private accounts rather than traditional Social Security. Estimates run into the trillions of dollars over several years.

Purely in political terms, Republican survey data long ago discovered that voters recoil at the use of the word "privatize" in connection with either Social Security or Medicare.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041017/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_rdp

Bu$h wants to Enron Social Security funds. He would just love to see 70+ year old folks at employment offices begging for jobs after their retirement funds are snatched away by unscrupulous corporate executives like Ken Lay. Anything to increase the labor pool so his corporate buddies don't ever have to raise the minimum wage because of ever increasing competition for jobs.

[sandnsea]

1. Disability & Surviver's Benefits

Young people, please remind your friends that Social Security is not a retirement plan. It's also insurance if you are disabled or for your children if you die. For many working families, it's the only insurance against tragedy they've got. They cannot forget that in this election. If those 30-49 year olds remember this, maybe they would see Bush is bamboozling them again.

[Andy_Stephenson]

2. Unfortunately both parties have been raiding the SS fund...

and replacing the money with IOU's. Unless and until that stops...the SS system is in dire shape.

Personally I think SS should be an opt in or out program.

I am a big fan of Al Gore's lock box idea!

[eauclaireliberal]

3. RE: "Kerry Warns of Privatized Social Security"

Actually, private investment should be the key here; Social Security is a joke. It always has been.

For one thing, there has never been a stable ratio between Social Security checks and the cost of living. The government rips you off for your entire working life just to give you bites of it back. Teaspoons, really.

The biggest mistake our grandparents made was to ever believe that the federal government could be trusted with their money.

Meanwhile, they have been given Medicare/Medicaid which pays pennies on the dollar...which in most states doesn't pay for dental work.

I work with seniors that are getting shafted. The facility I work at costs $165/day in short-term phys. rehab and $145 in long-term care (usually Alzheimers folks)/day. If Social Security worked, then the folks I work with (and their families) wouldn't have to turn over every asset they have worked hard for all their lives to have "skilled" nursing care while laying in urine. Prescription drugs wouldn't be the issue it is today. If Americans were paid back all that Big Brother has sapped from them in income and property taxes, Bush would be on the panic button everyday.

It's getting to the point The best that one can do these days is to get a few acres of land (praying that it won't deppreciate too much), a closet full of guns, and bury your cash in jars in the backyard where your dogs play.