LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Privatization: Social Security Privatization
built 487 days ago
One of the most hotly debated privatization issues in the United States in the 1990s revolved around Social Security. Begun in 1935 with passage of the Social Security Act, coverage of U.S. citizens had become nearly universal by 1956. In 1983 legislation was passed assuring the financial health of the Social Security system well into the 21st century. But because a large number of baby boomers will be retiring in the first decade of the new century, some analysts predicted a severe depletion of social security funds by 2030. Emboldened by spectacular gains in equity markets in the 1980s and 1990s, proponents of privatization argued that everyone would be better served if workers had more freedom in determining where their payroll taxes go. The Wall Street Journal divided Social Security privatizers into two groups: part-way privatizers and hard-core privatizers. The former would prefer payroll taxes going into individual retirement accounts and Social Security accounts.
Source:
The Campaign for America's Future helped lead the fight against Social Security privatization. Hickey is now developing a similar effort to empower citizen organizations to participate in the public debate about how to get health care for all. He praised the Center for American Progress and SEIU for getting candidates to address the issue in Las Vegas, Nev.
Source:
[T]he term "privatization" was for years embraced by its proponents as an accurate description of their position. The Cato Institute, an influential pro-privatization Beltway think tank, called its program the "Project on Social Security Privatization" before re-naming it "Project on Social Security Choice" in 2002 (New York Times, 10/6/02). That change was attributed to Republican lawmakers who wanted to avoid using an unpopular term to describe their policy.
Source:
Much of the Social Security privatization debate focuses on the rate of return of private accounts. If President Bush's proposal becomes law, citizens with private accounts would have to earn at least 3 percent above inflation to have any net gains from their accounts. Even Wall Street agrees that on average, people will have a hard time meeting this target.
Source:
Port Jefferson, NY-- On the 70th anniversary of Social Security, Congressman Tim Bishop released a study, which shows families in the 1st Congressional District would be harmed by privatization. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935.
Source:
The values behind Social Security privatization are not terrible. It is good to save. It is good to be self-reliant. It is good to plan ahead. It is good to be the little pig who builds his house of brick rather than straw.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Social Security Privatization