Should President Bush give another try to having a portion of Social Security invested in the stock market?

[From ABOVE]

[Gurrdy]

No.

[docscholl]

No.
His plate is full and he's not doing a very good job in either foreign or domestic issues.

[tonalc1]

No. It's a ridiculous idea.

[Sophist]

No, after seeing the results of his push for investing in the stock market--for Social Security or otherwise--how could anyone suggest now that this is a good idea. Look at the state of the economy as it is....

[errant_hero]

No. He doesn't have enough votes in the Congress to pass this.

By the way, read the words carefully in "Social Security." Investing in the stock market, by nature, is risky. There is no security.

Social security was designed to be immune from the downside of the stock market conditions. Investing in the stock market would no longer make it secure in any sense of the word.

Over the years, the government (regardless of the party in control) has used the money in the social security trust to supplement and fund government activities.

Social security was never intended for this purpose. The money belongs to the people, not the government. Of course, the government has used the trust as its piggy bank and has not repaid.

Therefore, shifting the responsibility of social security into individuals' hands in effect would shift the debt (social security money borrowed by the government) to the tax payers.

Additionally, what percentage of Americans would be qualified/comfortable in handling the investment side of their social security in the stock market, in this country where people barely know how to balance their checkbooks and/or have hard time paying off their credit cards?

[-RKO-]

Definitely NOT! This was just one more scam Bush wanted to inflict on the American public in favor of big business. Imagine how screwed up that mess would have been (even worse than the screwed up Medicare & Medicaid programs that are so confusing no one can figur ethem out; all that's certain is that the big pharmaceutical firms are reaping billions of dollars in profits).
A privatized Social Security program would give stockbrokers, financial consultants, big banks, investment counselors, lawyers and wealth managment firms billions of dollars in profits without any accountability whatsoever. They could have "invested" some little old lady's life savings and then blamed it on the "market conditions" if she lost it all. Imagine the scam-artists that would have jumped on this bandwagon!
Bush's proposal did not have the people's interests at heart - all he saw was a way to enhance the profitability of the already-too-profitable financial management industry. It could have cost millions of American taxpayers their life savings, their homes, and their future just so the money brokers could get rich. -RKO-

[mrcricket1932]

Is the only way there can be something available for the family when the recipient is deceased. Otherwise all benefits stop upon death.

One needs to consider a few factors when making such a decision.

[Laura W]

No way, no how. It was a bad idea then, it's still bad now. Social Security will be neither social nor secure if it is privatized. Plus, who is going to be taking care of the people who work scut jobs at minimum wage and CAN'T save for retirement on their own?

[Veda]

No ; but I still love him .