Why not privatize Social Security?

[spidergoat2]

You seem to not be familiar with American history. When the great Depression hit, millions of people lost their life savings. One response was to create Social Security as a 'supplement' to your retirement. Since it was backed by the government, the hope was that in a future depression, Americans would still have a source of income available.

The idea was that as you retired, your would have your personal savings, your company retirement, and Social Security. If one source should fail, you would always have two other sources for retirement.

The problem is that companies started abandoning retirement programs. Instead, they put money into 401k plans that put money in the stock market, the same place you invest your own money. Now instead of three sources of retirement funding, you're down to two, personal savings and social security.

Your proposal is to move all retirement money into the stock market or some other form of personal investments. So instead of three sources of income, personal saving, retirement plan and SS, we're down to only personal savings, in one form or another.

And when the next big recession/depression hits, what are people supposed to do when all their savings are wiped out again....

I suggest you do a bit more reading about 1929.