And how disastorous would that have been!? Oh my god, everyone would have been watch Mad Money every night and getting killed lol. And would people be hiring investment strategists? How much of a cut do they get? How good are half these investors anyways? I think people's retirements should be more secure then that. Even if it wouldn't end up being the DREAM retirement they imagined. Just being able to retire should be dream enough.
Id rather SS be private and all my investment in LEH stock. At least if i died my heirs would get .17 at todays price. I forgot about the portability feature. thas nice
Do people see fixed income as "secure" somehow? It's extremely risky, you are gambling against inflation and occasionally inflation is hyperinflation and people on fixed incomes starve, literally. SSI as it is, is not even a savings account, it is a transfer of money from your paycheck to somebody else. It's the forced investment that guarantees zero return, not even your principal is saved up for you or your heirs... but it got a lot of black votes starting back in the 30's for the Democrats and still does so it's still the third rail of politics..
Social Security is the Third Rail of American Politics because WHITE, ELDERLY VOTERS have made it so. Period. G_d help the politician that mentions taking Social Security away, or altering it in any meaningful way. The blue hairs will slay them on the steps of the Capitol Building, and consume their innards.