Invest for retirement

Let’s look at what would have happened if I had had the option to invest 6.2 percent of my gross income in the stock or bond market instead of Social Security.

I guesstimate the current market value of my investment would be between $500,000 and $1 million. The Dow Jones average when I entered the workforce was around 800.

If I had been injured and unable to work, my safety net would have been paid out of my investment, not by those still working.

If I had died, my dependents would have been paid out of my investment, not by those still working.

When I die, any value left would be left to my inheritors, not lost forever in the system.

The matching funds that employers and self-employed people pay could be used to administer the investments. And who knows, maybe they could be reduced.

This would, of course, be a long-term solution, not a short-term one.

To me, that sure seems wiser than making the current workers support those who are disabled, dependent or retired.

Charles Neill

Spokane