LA-04: Fleming Supports Privatizing Social Security by: ryan Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 12:24:43 PM CST Republican candidate John Fleming announces that he is in favor of privatizing Social Security: I find his position incredible, especially since Social Security disability payments and survivor's benefits saved his family when he was a high school senior and attending college. Apparently, his mother got hurt on the job, and his dad passed away from a heart attack months before John's graduation from high school. From his bio on his website: "Things were tough financially. It would take a while for my dad's Social Security survivor's checks to start coming and for funds from his life insurance policy to arrive. All we had was a small check from my mother's disability. Mr. Fleming, you claim you haven't forgotten where you came from. If that is the case, why would you advocate putting Social Security benefits in the stock market? The stock market is not always rising ... matter of fact, it's dropped near 3000 points in the last two months, which has caused many people to lose a good chunk of their retirement funds that they were counting on. Social Security is, was, and always should be a safety net for the American people. Putting it in the stock market will take away that safety net ... and put folks on a high wire ... trying to determine the best time to cash out, thereby make some folks winners and some folks losers. And no matter what, among the winners will always be banks and financial institutions that administer the mutual funds. That was never the intention of framers of Social Security ... it was intended to ensure a basic standard of living for folks after a lifetime of working. ryan :: LA-04: Fleming Supports Privatizing Social Security Tags: LA-04, John Fleming, Privatizing Social Security, Paul Carmouche, (All Tags) Print Friendly View Send As Email LA-04: Fleming Supports Privatizing Social Security | 2 comments by: you @ soon To post this comment click here: Otherwise click cancel. You must enter a subject for your comment Aside from the fact that (0.00 / 1) Fleming admits, in his own biographical narrative on his website, that Social Security payments helped steer his family through an incredible tough and traumatic time, I wonder how anyone, particularly in today's economy, could assert that $3,000 invested in 1990 would amount to over $30,000 in today's economy. A few problems: In 1990, the Down Jones was in a 21% decline: The stock market was, in 1990. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and concern about the Iraqi leader's unpredictable behavior, helped spark a 21% decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It became known as the Saddam Hussein bear market. Although unusually swift, the decline met the classic definition of a bear market: a 20% decline in major stock indexes. At the end of 1990, the Dow closed around 2300 points. Before the first war in Iraq seemed eminent, the Dow was hovering around 3,000 points. (The year's average was around 2600 points). Today, eighteen years later, the Dow closed at 8870 points. Sure, it has grown, but Fleming would have us believe that the market is ten times bigger than it was in 1990; it's actually less than 4 times bigger. The stock market is volatile, and it shouldn't be the playground for the retirements of average Americans. It takes a special financial acumen and patience to turn $3,000 into $30,000, and if you possess such an acumen, then you're probably sitting pretty anyway.   The "privatize Social Security" Republicans only care about the injection of cash into the market, which would definitely create an immediate, short-term inflation of value for thousands of companies and funds-- an inflation that savvy investors would exploit by selling early and high, before the market makes the appropriate corrections; the long term effects of which would disproportionately and negatively affect the average (not daily) investor. I think we should all worry about this proposal. It's a recipe for disaster.   by: CenLamar @ Tue Nov 11, 2008 at 03:02:40 AM UTC by: you @ soon To post this comment click here: Otherwise click cancel. You must enter a subject for your comment Yeah, you have to be operating on a different planet (0.00 / 1) To still be advocating for privatizing social security. Sure, that plan was attractive, particularly during the stock-boom years of the Clinton era, buffeted by cheap oil, a building boom, a hot tech and banking stocks. Heck, it was very hard arguing against it during the Clinton years. If nothing else, the last eight years have taught the American public two things, they are: 1) Aggressively interventionist foreign policy, particularly of the nation-building variety is dangerous and expensive (in terms of money, but more importantly, in terms of human life) 2) The stock market is a dangerous place to put your future, and should be treated with appropriate respect, care, and fear. It ought to speak volumes that Fleming (and my Congressman-elect, Cassidy) seems so keen on it. Of course, stock market-based social security, interventionist foreign policy, tax cuts for millionaires, and use of social issues for elections seem to be the four corners of GOP policy. by: Matt D @ Tue Nov 11, 2008 at 03:46:40 AM UTC [ Parent ] by: you @ soon To post this comment click here: Otherwise click cancel. You must enter a subject for your comment LA-04: Fleming Supports Privatizing Social Security | 2 comments

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