Holy Straw Man, Batman! You're debunking arguments that no one has made.
No one's talking about making private 401k contributions in addition to SS, we're talking about making SS contributions go into a market pension. Not optional, just like now.
Yes, someone making minimum wage won't be a millionaire from their investments, but they will
still be better off than with the return in the present system.
If someone spends their entire lives working minimum wage, they have larger problems. The vast majority of people rapidly move up the ladder as they gain experience and wisdom. But you already knew that.
You can't make large policy decisions based on edge cases. And the explosion of wealth throughout the economy will provide much more tax funds to help those people in edge cases who need public assistance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
They don't hire full time. You keep using $29k/year as your brag about how great a minimum wage job will pay, and now you're specifying what KIND of minimum wage job - a fast food joint or big box store. They don't hire full time for their minimum wage jobs. Those jobs are part time jobs. They don't pay $29k/year. IN ADDITION - $29k/year is not a living wage.
We're talking about the cost of living for seniors earning Social Security checks, and how "something other than Social Security" would return better income upon retirement.
You're supposing that someone starting out with no high school diploma, and no experience, can get a part-time minimum wage job and live independently while at the same time putting money away in investments instead of social security, and magically come out ahead when it's time for them to retire.
I'm supposing that they'll end up realizing that $14/hour for only 18 hours a week won't even get them a single bedroom in someone else's apartment, AND money to invest, AND utilities, AND food, AND transportation, AND clothing for the year, AND the cost of health care beyond the yearly physical, even if the insurance premiums are free (thanks to the ACA). It can't be done in Florida.
It isn't practical, or kind, or helpful, or useful, to suggest that 17-20-year-olds who drop out of high school can just get a full time minimum wage job and swap out social security payroll deductions for investments, and be able to retire some day having done better. Because they won't even make it to 25 with that ridiculous idea, since they'll discover in their FIRST year of trying, that no such scenario exists.
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