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Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: westpacific who wrote (5311)	6/25/2001 8:57:41 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74559

Paying down debt?? Are you kidding? Every year the Social Security Trust Fund (SSTF) generates a profit from FICA taxes above what the SSTF pays out, the US private national debt increases. The US PUBLIC debt may decrease, but the US PRIVATE DEBT increases by a like amount. IOW, a game of smoke and mirrors. The surplus is primarily from excess FICA taxes that are raked in each time a worker receives a paycheck. What isn't paid out to current SS recipients is handed over to the US government in exchange for US Treasuries that will come due 10-20 years from now. It is forbidden by law for the SSTF to invest that surplus in anything but government securities. Then that money the SSTF hands over to the government is then SPENT on pork barrel projects doled out by government politicians. That's why Bush made the bold proposal that all excess FICA tax revenues that were above the current liabilities of SS, should be invested in private IRAs that become a private asset owned by the worker. Giving this excess FICA tax revenue to the government denies a crucial source of capital to the private sector. If forces interest rates higher than they need to be, and it prevents workers from setting aside personal savings for retirement, or an asset that can be passed on to heirs. I believe in such a "forced savings" plan. I believe that it can be managed in a manner similar to existing Thrift Savings Plans TSP that Federal workers enjoy the benefit of. I believe that this money is better placed into the private market and economy, than in the hands of government politicians who will not spend it in a manner that creates economic value for the US economy. Don't believe me?? Check it out for yourself!! publicdebt.treas.gov And btw, the US Public debt totals a mere 32% of total US GDP ($10 Trillion). Compare that to Japan's public debt of some 140% of their GDP. Or France's unfunded liabilities equal to 200% of their GDP... Hawk