Social Security or Savings? Um. Try a Little of Both.
You wouldn't like retirees when they're angry.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThe other day, I tackled the vexing question of why so few Americans seem able to save enough. Today I’ll tackle the vexing corollary to this question: the assertion that if individuals can’t manage to save, the government must step in. Corporate pensions are dying, the argument goes, and private savings is laughably inadequate. Obviously, what we need is a much more generous Social Security system.
Dylan Matthews is the latest to make this argument: “Instead of trying to repair our broken privatized retirement system, why not give the public sector a shot? Why not expand Social Security so that it functions not just as a backstop but as the primary source of retirement income for ordinary Americans?”1461256720342