Republicans Expect Big Payoff From Bush's Ownership Society

[papau]

http://www.investors.com/editorial/general.asp?v=12/26

General News
Monday, January 24, 2005

Republicans Expect Big Payoff From Bush's Ownership Society
BY JED GRAHAM

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

<snip>In a seemingly off-script moment, Scott Ballard, a Washington state ambulance company owner, told Bush that his young employees never talk about Social Security. But Ballard went on to say that they tend to get more engaged in managing their retirement savings once they start to see their 401(k) plan assets accumulate.

The president quickly steered the discussion back into the political realm: "That's kind of an interesting thought, isn't it — when you see it on paper, the value of something, you begin to actually pay attention to what causes values to go up — good policies that enhance growth."<snip>

With Social Security reform, perhaps 80% of households might own stocks and mutual funds, up from 52% now and just 30% in 1989, says Daniel Clifton, executive director of the American Shareholders Association.

"If you can get everyone invested in the markets . . . the direction of public policy is going to change significantly," Clifton said. "The idea of raising taxes on corporations is going to be a nonstarter because it eats into everyone's" personal retirement account.<snip>

[RedCloud]

1. How can Bush finance his jingoism?

He can't raid Social Security any more, if he destroys it.

He will have to beg Congress and the taxpayers for (GULP!) higher taxes to finance his dreams of Empire and worse, may have to actually prove his case to the public.

No more words of mass deception, if the taxpayers know they are in for higher taxes.

[unblock]

2. once every four or five terms, they'll let a democrat in to raise taxes

and take all the heat for the next quarter-century.

[denverbill]

3. What happens to the stock market when baby boomers start retiring?

The biggest population bubble in history, which owns more stock than any generation in history, is eventually going to need to sell that stock to pay for their retirement, and/or transfer the money to less risky bond investments/cds/money markets.

There's going to be lots of people selling and lots fewer buying. That certainly isn't going to help the market.

[American Tragedy]

6. And somehow we are going to have to pay for boomers' retirement

even though they outnumber us by many millions and we're in public debt up to our eyeballs. Where is the money going to come from?

[ladjf]

4. Billions for the Wall Street account brokers.

[American Tragedy]

5. That final sentence pretty much says it all.

"If you can get everyone invested in the markets . . . the direction of public policy is going to change significantly," Clifton said. "The idea of raising taxes on corporations is going to be a nonstarter because it eats into everyone's" personal retirement account.


So, how exactly are we going to generate enough revenue to sustain the government? If this thing actually happens, we will need even more than ever before, due to the massive inflation of public debt.

[papau]

7. logic does not seem to be of interest to these people!

:-)