Politics: Social Security, Something About Chile

The hallmark of Pres. Bush’s Social Security Privatization / Phase Out program is the transfer of tax revenue from Social Security into private accounts. His theory is that returns would be higher if individuals could gamble on the market rather than invest in what amounts to a guaranteed retirement lifetime annuity. Last November, Pres. Bush traveled to Chile to look for an example of a Social Security program that used private accounts. So, how are they doing? This is from, “Chile's Retirees Find Shortfall in Private Plan,” an article in today’s NY Times (full text requires a free online registration).

Among the admirers of the privatized system here is Mr. Bush, who on a visit in November called Chile "a great example" for other countries. On other occasions, he has suggested that the United States could "take some lessons from Chile, particularly when it comes to how to run our pension plans."

I wonder what our President hopes us to learn from Chile’s example.