Tuesday, June 28, 2005
OK, so the Trust Funds are real.
I hear tell of a rumor that some Republicans have a plan for distributing the assets in the Trust Funds into Private Retirement Accounts.
I haven't yet seen an actual quote from an actual Republican on the subject, although there are some barbed quotes from Democrats in the link above. Aside from the fact that it would be nice to hear Republicans admit that there are assets in the Trust Funds, I still feel a need to say the following: Right now, the trust funds are projected to start paying out more than they take relatively soon (2017, if memory serves) and to go bankrupt in the future (I want to say after 2040). If you simply disbursed all of the assets that the Trust Funds are currently holding, that would move bankruptcy up to 2017. I have no knowledge of the details associated with these hypothetical PRAs, but under any circumstances, we would have hike taxes to pay for those who are currently retired in 2018. No such thing as a free lunch.
In theory, I have no problem with PRAs, but my stakes in the ground are:
* No crazy borrowing
* Minimal risk to retirees
* Transparant management
My mythical readers will probably be able to point out important stakes I have overcooked.
Thanks for reading,
I haven't yet seen an actual quote from an actual Republican on the subject, although there are some barbed quotes from Democrats in the link above. Aside from the fact that it would be nice to hear Republicans admit that there are assets in the Trust Funds, I still feel a need to say the following: Right now, the trust funds are projected to start paying out more than they take relatively soon (2017, if memory serves) and to go bankrupt in the future (I want to say after 2040). If you simply disbursed all of the assets that the Trust Funds are currently holding, that would move bankruptcy up to 2017. I have no knowledge of the details associated with these hypothetical PRAs, but under any circumstances, we would have hike taxes to pay for those who are currently retired in 2018. No such thing as a free lunch.
In theory, I have no problem with PRAs, but my stakes in the ground are:
* No crazy borrowing
* Minimal risk to retirees
* Transparant management
My mythical readers will probably be able to point out important stakes I have overcooked.
Thanks for reading,
