28 April 2009 - Social Security fixes

People who know what they’re doing, unless they are desperately poor, can save for retirement on their own; having a government program trying to help only makes life harder. But research shows that most people still keep the same financial literacy that Neanderthals learned after trading was first invented.

There are two approaches. If you believe people are basically smart but perhaps ignorant on selected subjects, like you, then private retirement accounts plus education solve the problem. If you think people are incorrigibly stupid, like you, then it’s time to go all Fidel Castro on ’em.