Hi there, back from a week in Ft. Lauderdale for a business meeting, look at how much has changed!

1. New comment screen, it looks good so far but it doesn't show the original post? Makes commenting a bit trickier.

2. SSI - gov't in retirement business. The debate was had back in 1930 or so. 99.99% of elected officials want the gov't in the retirement business. Don't believe me? How many Republicans support abolishing 401K's, IRAs, and seek a social security reform along the lines of abolish everything and let people save as they please or don't.

3. SSI's safety net consists of a few elements. First is that it is essentially insurance against you living too long and running out of funds. Should this happy event happen (would you rather die at 66 or 86?), you are very likely to be too frail to return to working. The second is the somewhat newer disability portion which will pay you if you are unable to ever work again. The final element is the means testing. SSI's 'return' is higher for the lower wage earner than the higher one. Granted that's not aggressive means testing but it is a type of means testing.
Boonton | Homepage | 02.16.09 - 8:10 am | #