Stocks, Pension

I think that those who are promoting partial privatization of Social Security (April 8) are doing today’s young people a disservice by leaving them with the impression that playing the stock market is a sure-fire road to riches for their retirement years. The word “security” is included in the title of today’s retirement system for a reason, not the words “investment” or “savings plan.” The idea is to have a guaranteed benefit for one’s old age and the stock market offers no guarantees of any kind.

However, if it will make younger workers feel better, maybe a good experiment would be a small increase in the payroll tax with the option of investing this amount in a private plan with the understanding any loss will not be made up with any government aid at retirement. If you are going to gamble with public funds you can’t expect any guarantees, in my opinion.

DAN OLIVIER

Bullhead City, Ariz.