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Originally Posted by Happy Monkey
That's average. If everyone in the US made the average salary, we would need no safety net. Whats the comparison of the minimum return for an individual in T-bills and stocks? That's what Social Security is for - a guaranteed minimum to live on.
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That argument is completely devoid of logic.
No one earns exactly the "average" salary of all wage earners. But
everyone who invests in the stock market earns the average return over the long run and that average return is remarkably stable. Why should I be penalized because you are terrified of the stock market. I can turn 10k into 450k while your 10k turns into 21k. But, in your world, I am prohibited because "its not fair to you." How so?? How does what I do with my money affect what you do with yours?
Also, please provide a scenario where a long term investment in T-Bills has outperformed the same investment in the stock market over a 35-year span.
And as for your point that SS provides a minimum amount to live on, let's see you do it. SS income is inadaquate - that's the reason alternatives are being proposed. And the whole basis of the SS system is that there be enough people paying into the system to cover those drawing from the system. That requirement is about to go out the window when the retiring baby boomers outnumber wage earners by a substantial margin. Prepare for even more cuts in benefits or, allow me to take more risk than you are willing to take to and earn (historically speaking) five times more than you and I'll help cover your deficit. If you do nothing, the system will not survive. What's your alternative solution?