My stupid question re: Social Security

[Ian David]

If Social Security is "privatized," would we be able to invest our personal accounts in:
1) Gold
2) Foreign Currency
3) Foreign bonds

[whistle]

1. Probably, those seem risky enough to ensure that by the...

...time your retire, some neo-con will have figured out a way to deprive you of getting your far return of those investment gambles.

[Warpy]

2. 2% of the average person's FICA

would amount to under fifty bucks a year. They will want that whopping sum put into the stock market.

It's a scam.

[unblock]

4. and it's probably $50/year in fees!

[OnlyInAmerica]

7. When they say 2%....

Do they mean 2% of the total amount you contribute to FICA (meaning 98% of what you contribute still goes to FICA), or do they mean of the 7.51% of your paycheck that you contribute to FICA, 2% goes into a personal account and 5.51% goes into FICA? I was under the impression that it was the latter.

[ulTRAX]

3. you forgot to add.......

Basball cards and stamps.

How about investing in pyramid schemes...... hey wait.... that's what all the stock markert is.

[Ian David]

5. Gold and foreign currency

I was thinking that if the US economy plunges into disaster, gold and Euros would be the only thing left with value. Plus, gold and foreign currency (I think) puts nothing into the hands of the stockmarket swindlers.

[zann725]

6. Bush bases his SS plan on Chile plan...where the average retiree

now gets an average whopping $100/mo. on retirement.

Or maybe the question, "How much retirement money are any of the Retirees from Silverado S&L receiving monthly...after Neil Bush gutted those accounts in the 80's?" Those were 'private accts,' right?