[Marxism] US pension reform -- Pinochet style

["acpollack2@xxxxxxxx" <acpollack2@xxxxxxxx>]

An op-ed by Pinochet's labor and social security minister on how he "reformed" 
Chile's pension system, and claiming that he has Bush's ear on the subject. In 
any case his "reform" sounds a lot like Bush's, at least in its basics.

"During his visit here last month, President Bush pointed out that the Chilean 
pension model was a "great example" for Social Security reform in the United 
States. For 24 years, I have championed the Chilean retirement system, which is 
based on ownership, choice and personal responsibility... a defined-benefit 
system is not only hostage to demographic trends, it also has a fatal flaw: it 
destroys the link between individual contributions and benefits, or, in other 
words, between personal effort and reward.

"Chile's Social Security Reform Act of 1980 allowed current workers to opt out 
of the government-run pension system financed by a payroll tax and instead 
contribute to a personal retirement account. What determines those workers' 
retirement benefit is the amount of money accumulated in their personal account 
during their working years. Neither the workers nor the employers pay a payroll 
tax. Nor do these workers collect a government-financed benefit."
full at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/01/opinion/01pinera.html


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