And before anyone says that Bush's "reforms" would allow the folks with "too much month left at the end of the money" to invest part of their FICA in a private account, that percentage is so minuscule that even compound interest (a simple savings account would be the most secure kind of investment, but the best savings accounts usually do is manage to keep pace with raises in the cost of living, and little more, if even that much) wouldn't raise it much beyond a pretty piddling amount. With that small an amount to invest in anything, if they have to pay brokers' fees to handle their investment, then it would be a whole lot easier to just flush it down the toilet. Do the arithmetic.

The idea of the large percentage of low income folks in this country being able to handle the kind of investing that might yield a reasonable amount to retire on is totally unrealistic.

Don Firth