Under Bush the younger there was a proposal to allow a portion of social security taxes to be invested in the stock market. The Democrats do what they always do when reform of social security is raised: they demagogued it to death, running adds showing ruthless politicians tossing grandmas in wheelchairs over the cliff. Thus our social security contributions continued to be “invested” in Federal debt. That is what the social security “trust fund” means, paper IOUs from Uncle Sam.
If that proposal had become law, my net return would probably now be well over a million dollars. Just invested in current certificates of deposit that would net an annual income of 40,000 a year. Invested in index funds that would net an average return of of somewhat over 100,000 a year. None of this is hard. It is merely history as to investments and the compounding of interest over time. That our politicians have made it hard in the service of their political advantage is both villainous and entirely predictable.
