McCain's bad timing on SS reform

[babylonsister]

McCain's bad timing on SS reform
Posted September 20, 2008 10:53 AM
The Swamp

by Frank James



As one of the scariest weeks on record for the nation's financial markets came to an end, the thought occurred to me that we probably wouldn't be hearing about the creation of private accounts for Social Security any time soon, at least not for a long time.

I mean, with the stark evidence before our eyes of just how risky the financial markets can be during any given period, that should basically put a discussion of private accounts off the table, right?

Wrong again.

Glen Johnson of the Associated Press had a story Friday that said Sen. John McCain's campaign aides were paddling hard to reconcile for reporters the Republican presidential nominee's unwavering belief in private accounts with the new Wall Street worries.

GREEN BAY, Wisc. (AP) _ Wall Street turmoil left John McCain scrambling to explain why the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remained strong. It also left him defending his support for privately investing Social Security money in the same markets that had tanked earlier in the week.

The Republican presidential nominee says all options must be considered to stave off insolvency for the government insurance and retirement program, and top McCain advisers say that includes so-called personal retirement accounts like those President Bush pushed in 2005 but abandoned in the face of congressional opposition.

The aides tried to soothe voters concerned about the bankruptcies, takeovers and bailouts on Wall Street by declaring McCain favored only the option of such accounts, just for younger workers, and most likely in a conservative investment vehicle such as bonds.

Leaving aside the question why you'd expect such private accounts invested conservatively in bonds to outperform the specially issued Treasuries the Social Security Trust Fund is currently invested in, it does seem like an act of either political bravery or misjudgment to be talking about private accounts this week of all weeks.

more...

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/09/mccain_social_security_private.html#more

[Skink]

1. 2024 after another 8 years of republican rule the fed announces...

a 10 trillion dollar rescue of failed private Social Security accounts.