Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
I think there are some large period-of-transition cash requirements that would need to be faced, but that's really the only true cost inherent in the idea.
My problem with it is, yeah, we'll get great retirements in a boom economy. But, when our private SS investments trash in another bubble burst, and the basic SS benefit isn't enough to sustain life (because it's predicated on an additional bump from the private investment portion), are all the oldies then gonna go on welfare for the gap?
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Well, in a rational world, a large portion of retirees will have invested in a balanced portfolio of both debt and equity, and will be fine, if not as well of as they might have been otherwise.
Those who can meet the means test will in fact wind up getting some public subsidy. However, my estimation is that the total governmental outlays will still be less than the cost of raising taxes or going further into debt to repay the trust fund, plus pay in any additional amounts needed to fund the shortfall for the retiring boomers.
