I got a snazzy little pamphlet in the mail from the Cato Institute today. It "goes beyond the 'green eyeshades' debate" to help me understand what's really at stake.
Apparently I too can live the life of the blonde haired blue eyed family of wealthy people on the cover. I'm comforted to discover that "there has never been a 20-year period in U.S. history during which you would have lost money in the stock market."
I also got a soft-sell pitch from my 401K plan advisor today at our company meeting. He stated that "If you get personal accounts as part of social security, you'll be able to invest money in Target retirement funds like Fidelity's."
It's a comfortable sort of vision. Wall Street doesn't want to take money from suckers, it wants to help us afford velvet sofas in our golden years. Wall Street will just skim a little money off the top--it won't hurt one bit. Stocks are safe. Totally safe. The SEC is just a little fussy about companies saying that there is no risk. Bunch of bullshit legislation passed after the Great Depression. But they're safe. Totally safe. Don't you want some?
One interesting phrase is the ownership society. If stocks turn into worthless pieces of paper, we're still owners. And if your home is in hock for more than it's worth, you're still an owner.
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