What ? Yes, I said it. I have an idea. An Idea most of you could add to, take away from , have used before or could change the scope of this country. A TALL ORDER, you might say — but that is what ideas are. An idea gets the ball rolling and a decent idea with smart people like yourselves contributing can only get better.
My idea involves no graphs, no pictures and no wealth redistribution . It would also use free market principles to better our nations health and well being. It all started reading Ministry of Truth's diary. I believe the IOU's put into Social Security by Ronald Reagan and H.W.(the Godfather of the Bush Family Crime Syndicate) Bush being paid back. The tea party people should even like this one ! It would all be paid for , deficit neutral if you will.
Hopefully my idea is to — liking or inspires you to contribute to it and make it an even better one.
So , in the 80's and 90's Reagan and H. W. gave Social Security an IOU. Well, the only way to pay back Social Security is to have every dollar of income taxed the 5.6% to make up the short fall. Yes, no more 'after 105K you don't have to pay'. Everyone pays for the greater good, just like on 9/12 - we're all in this together. Now we may get a Beckster on board .
Since the new contribution would make social security deficit neutral and in 2 years time help medicare be deficit neutral NOT TO MENTION LOWER THE RETIREMENT AGE , even the tea baggers should be on board.
By lowering the retirement age jobs would open up . THIS IS NOT MY ENTIRE IDEA, please read on.
Now, Banks and investment firms have reaped plenty with our 401K , pension and retirement funds . Mostly out of brute force — you don't have to, but you can live on cat food in your golden years if you like. It is time to offer some competition , real competition not just some new bank.
Stay with me, it gets detailed.
Lets say like many, your employer offers a 401K with a matching contribution up to a certain %. I'll use 6%, mostly because I would hate to see a CEO have to take a pay-cut or take less than a 73 million dollar retirement package . For a one time fee, you can contribute your 6% and the company would do in turn BUT TO AN ALTERNATE PROGRAM AVAILABLE TO ALL. If a 401K is offered the Social Security Add On (if you have a better name-comment it)would also be offered . WHAT. Yes, instead of giving your money to a Bank or Investment firm that would gamble your money, you could contribute that 6% to a social security payment — it would be in addition to the payment you would already receive.
Say your 5.6% deduction now garners you $2200 a month for life, the additional 6% by you and 6% by your company would garner you an additional $2500 . Does that sound good ? $4700 a month during retirement ? PLUS, with the payback to social security previously mentioned, this would make retirement at 60 a reality .
How would banks or Wall Street compete ? Offering lower fees, offering more solid and safe investments with higher returns and maybe lessening bonuses of their CEO's .
See, Social Security is not broke, it is perfect if everyone pays their fair share. If our government was to offer incentives to we the people to get on board with them, banks and Wall Street would be regulated BY THE FREE MARKET ! Stock values plummet due to what should be illegal schemes, how long before you pull your money out and give it to a much safer and far more well run Social Security Administration? CEO's getting billions ? Don't get angry, switch your money to the Social Security Add On ! Your bank failed ? SO WHAT ! Your money is with Social Security and The FDIC will cover what those bastards pissed away !
We allowed Ronald Reagan to convince us that we can handle our money better than billion dollar CEO's . If they can't manage funds for the company they run then why are they making so damned much ? W . had a large cross section of morons convinced privatizing Social Security was a good idea — imagine if that happened. No one would be able to retire at this point, not for the next 70 years . Banks and Wall Street will only regulate themselves the way they say they can IF THEY HAVE REAL COMPETITION , right now it is a one stop shop. Sure, you can give your money to any number of brokers to lose — but it all goes to the same place - free unsecured loans to the same corporations freezing our wages . If we are to live in a free market, why can't we the working man have some leverage ?
I have said this before and will say this again — every government program runs far more cost effectively and is heads above its private sector counterparts and now it is time to show not just the citizens of this country that, but the entire world that the right program with the right leader can fix the world.
Yes, that is a bold statement . Yes, this is an idea in its infancy stages , but it is an idea.
Kos started this blog to get ideas and I finally have one that isn't putting my television on mute and screaming at Glenn Beck.
I welcome any fine tuning or even criticism . The critique can only point out flaws that could make this program an awesome reality.
Just think - Competition for Banks and Investment Firms ! Lowering the retirement age ! Increasing faith in our Leaders ! STABLE and Reasonable Retirement ! Being old with dignity ! We could do this !
Obviously I live in reality and I don't think this would happen tomorrow , but new ideas is what we need to fix the system . Maybe, just maybe, for once the working stiff can get the good end of the stick.