Savings & Pensions

Heritage Foundation - PRAs: What If?

President Bush’s idea to allow Americans to save for their own retirements through personal retirement accounts is hardly the “risky scheme” former Vice President Al Gore claimed in the 2000 campaign. It is, instead, a sensible and long-overdue way to let workers truly take charge of their retirements and take part in an ownership society.

Despite its potential, though, President Bush’s plan has caused a great deal of consternation among critics. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, for example, complained after the State of the Union address that “the Bush plan isn’t really Social Security reform. It’s more like Social Security roulette.” The main point of contention among the opponents of this kind of ownership society reform is that it would take undue risks with workers’ retirement dollars.