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May 10th, 2006What's really important is ownership!
May 10th 10:21:16 AM
The release of the Trustees report has put "solvency" on every one's brain, but S4 reminded Christian Science Monitor readers what Social Security reform is really about: ownership. In a call for personal accounts, it is pointed out that
Whether the system is solvent or not does not change the fact that workers do not have property rights to their Social Security taxes or benefits...Why concern ourselves with 2040 when our rights are being stripped away today?
Read the full letter to learn why ownership and choice must remain at the core of the Social Security reform debate.
Posted by Nicola Moore| Comments (0)
May 09th, 2006Just how bad are the Social Security numbers? BAD...
May 09th 09:38:44 AM
There is a great op-ed worth reading in today's Washington Post by Allan Sloan (Newsweek's Wall Street Editor). Sloan explains what the numbers in the Trustees Report really tell us about the current system.
Sloan gives the shortfall scale:
In 2021, a mere 15 years from now, cash is negative to the tune of $128 billion. For the economic purists among us, that's equivalent to $85 billion in today's dollars -- think of it as adding another Iraq and Afghanistan to the budget.
And dispels "trust fund" myths:
But won't the trust fund allow Social Security to keep paying full benefits until 2039? Actually, it won't, because despite its heft, the trust fund doesn't generate any cash to cover the shortfalls. When Social Security has to get $11 billion from its trust fund in 2017 or $284 billion in 2025, it will cash in some Treasury securities. But to get the money to redeem those securities, the Treasury will have to tax more, spend less or borrow more. That's exactly what the Treasury would have to do to keep Social Security checks from bouncing if there were no trust fund. So what use is the trust fund? None.
Posted by Nicola Moore| Comments (0)
May 08th, 2006New York Times Now Admits PRAs are Good for Social Security!
May 08th 01:41:33 PM
Without realizing it, the New York Times has just become an advocate of personal retirement accounts.
On today's op-ed page, the Times celebrates the fact that the long-run deficits of Social Security have gone down this year. Long term cash deficits, the Times argues, should be the real benchmark of success for the system.
That is interesting because that is exactly what the community of people who support personal accounts have been arguing since last year!
Personal accounts save actual cash in real accounts (something policymakers call "advance funding"), and this reduces long-run deficits in the current system. Not only do PRAs reduce long-run deficits, every plan for personal accounts proposed last year generated surpluses by 2080 or before. (You can verify this by looking at the policy research on www.ssa.gov)
If the New York Times is serious about using long-run cash flows to evaluate the success of the current system, it will have no choice but to support personal retirement accounts.
Given the financial gains PRAs offers, that's a good thing!
Posted by Nicola Moore| Comments (0)
May 05th, 2006AARP's mutual funds are a rip off
May 05th 09:25:01 PM
Analysis of AARP's new mutual funds illustrates they are a rip off.
For one, they generate low returns.
The AARP funds don't currently invest in emerging-markets stocks, though the prospectus permits them to do so as the funds grow. "They could be potentially leaving some returns on the table," says Philip Edwards, managing director of Standard & Poor's Investor Services.
For another, they come at a high cost compared to other funds.
Each AARP fund carries an expense ratio capped at 0.5% through Nov. 1, 2007. Still, the comparable Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund (VSMGX) charges only 0.25%. That fund also includes an active element, investing 25% of its assets in Vanguard Asset Allocation (VAAPX). The actively managed Fidelity Asset Manager: Growth (FASGX) is a bit costlier at 0.82%, but Fidelity Four-in-One Index (FFNOX) has a 0.21% price tag.
For an institution that claims to know a lot about helping retirees, they sure picked a bad mutual fund manager. Find out the rest of the reasons AARPs funds can't be trusted here.
Posted by Nicola Moore| Comments (0)
MISSING: Senators Smith and Wyden
May 05th 11:26:15 AM
I went to Portland State University yesterday, one of Oregon's largest public schools. Its located in downtown Portland, so students, tourists, shoppers, businessmen and women are ALL frequent passersby...which is PERFECT since we're trying to get the word out on our missing Senators!
The posters cite our Missing Senators...missing in terms of the issue of Social Security reform and specifically, the recent vote on March 16th to stop the raid. they seem to be REALLY eye-catching...several students stopped while i was putting them up. I must say, it made me nervous (I went to a speaking event recently on their campus and yes...students who disagreed w/ the speaker were swearing at him, rudely interrupting and basically causing a huge scene in a very immature way) SO I was like, oh no- here goes.
But no one did that! In fact, everyone reacted by saying, "WOW! I didn't know they did that!" referring to BOTH Senator Smith and Senator Wyden voting to CONTINUE the raid on the Social Security Trust fund.
One lady stopped in her tracks and had this horrified look on her face. She dramatically said- "NO WAY. YOU ARE KIDDING ME. SENATOR SMITH IS MISSING? NO NO, THERE'S NO WAY!" So i said- "Well- uhh...like the bottom of this flyer says, he's missing on the ISSUE of Social Security reform" So then she was like, "OHHHHH. i was thinking someone TOOK him"
Funny stuff. I'm pumped to plaster ALL the schools in Oregon...who knows what other kind of reactions I'll get to Senator Smith and Senator Wyden's missing posters, but hopefully they will be like the majority I got yesterday- people agreeing that its MESSED UP that our senators are turning their backs on our generation!
Posted by Evan Dent| Comments (0)
May 04th, 2006AARP makes out like bandit on Medicare Part D
May 04th 07:02:26 PM
According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll only 13% of Seniors approve of Medicare Part D.
So why does AARP--which claims to represent the interest of seniors--back Medicare Part D? The same reason it does everything: PROFIT.
In a new study of the 80 insurance companies that provide the Medicare program, AARP's partner, United Health Group, is dominating the industry.
This means AARP is profiting--and big--off of seniors and a program they never wanted in the first place. This is just plain wrong.
To see some of the other issues AARP is advocating for that are against your interest, don't forget to take our quiz here.
Posted by Nicola Moore| Comments (0)
Look who got published!
May 04th 11:43:25 AM
Our National Coordinator, Will Fields, just got a terrific piece published in the George Washington Hatchet.
Will reminds those students graduating this year of the looming problems facing Social Security and how they will impact students as they enter the job market. As Will says:
Many young adults talk about the careers that they hope to obtain and the money they work hard for. Why not think about the investments that can support us and our future families as we retire? These issues are as real for us now as they will be in 45 years.
Read the full story here
Posted by Nicola Moore| Comments (0)
May 03rd, 2006We've got new membership and recruiting software!
May 03rd 03:57:13 PM
I've been working on a new piece of software to make it easier to invite people to become members of S4. The basic idea is that it allows you to invite people (by typing in their name and email). They will then get an invitation in their inbox.
All they have to do to join up is click "sign me up". As a bonus, the system tracks who you have signed up and gives you credit for it. You even get credit for the people your signups sign up. We're going to do some cool things with the rankings later on.
So check it out and let me know what you think!
Click here to see it
If you have forgotten your username and/or password, you can have it mailed to you from the login page.
Posted by Jeremy Tunnell| Comments (0)
President Bush says it ain't over...
May 03rd 02:38:45 PM
President Bush spoke to the American Council of Engineering Companies today, and he mentioned Social Security reform as one of those issues that isn't off the table.
So I just want to assure you this issue is on my mind a lot. I like to remind people that the job of a President is to confront problems, no matter how difficult they may look, and not pass them on to future Presidents.
Click "Read More" to see what he had to say...
Read More »
Posted by Jeremy Tunnell| Comments (0)
May 02nd, 2006CALIFORNIA
May 02nd 11:09:53 AM
Check out some pics from the ostrich's recent travels to California...the main point of going was to reach out to college students, but we also found some time to visit the beach. its california! surfers and beach bums need their personal retirement accounts too!!
Posted by Evan Dent| Comments (0)
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