look at this last desperate POS the repukes are trying to sell SS with

"Contrary to what some people have been saying, Bush's proposal for voluntary private Social Security accounts would not be a financial windfall for Wall Street. Similar account types in the Federal government's Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) pay securities firms a net total of $.16 revenue per $10,000 in the worker's accounts. According to the Securities Industry Administration (SIA), the types of private accounts that Bush has proposed would only result in about $39 billion in revenue over 75 years for the industry. Chump change."

heheh - they are desperate I tell ya!!!!

The windfall comes not from such administrative charges, but from the effect on overall price levels of channeling several trillions in fresh funds into the market itself. This will have the effect of driving prices of all stocks higher, as there will be no great increaser in the amount of stocks to be purchased by the greater quantity of available funds. This will be a windfall for C.E.O.s and such with option compensation, and for the brokerage houses. It will prove unsustainable, of course, because the increased prices will not reflect any real increase in the capital value or profits of the underlying concerns in which the shares are sold. It will collapse shortly before the first wave of retirements relying on these Social Security stock purchases come due. And that is exactly what this plan to piratize Social Security intends: to transfer the retirement funds of working Americans directly into the pockets of plutocrats.

People need to be aware of this. The short version is, they are trying to pump up a bubble for themselves, and burst it on future retirees.

The TSP was created for Fed employees IN ADDITION TO SS in response to the 401K plans most people in the private sector could participate in! If they're so damn concerned about being able to have additional options for savings, let em increase the amount you can put into a 401K each year, or raise the cap on the amt an individual can contribute to an IRA. This whole privitization thing is a damn scam to again benefit the wealthy, and wall street.

I hear people calling cspan saying how wealthy they've gotten with their 401K plans, and are now able to enjoy such a comfortable retirement. Well, I've been enrolled in a 401K plan since they started. Do I have some $$ there? Yes. But for all the first years, the benefits were minimal at best, and although my account did make a decent profit in the second half of the 90's, most of it was wiped out in early 2000. I didn't loose it all, and there is still more than I contributed, but It sure isn't enough to enable me to retire "comfortably"!

...profit AT ALL! How DARE the Dems make such a suggestion!

... on this matter. It's only the latest. :)

Since there's no plan, that means there's no management fee yet defined, and no firm assurances that the fees will in any way resemble the fees paid by TSP.

In fact, the figure for TSP fees above is BS:

G Fund—By definition, the G Fund never can have a losing month. All investments in the fund earn interest at a rate equal to the average of market yields on Treasury marketable securities with four or more years to maturity.

G Fund returns are reduced by administrative expenses, which are about 0.06 percent, or $.60 for every $1,000 invested.
C, S, I and F Funds—The C, S, I and F Funds can post gains or losses. The capital gain or loss consists of these elements:

•the change in the price of the stocks in the equity index funds (C, S and I Funds) or the notes in the U.S. Debt Index Fund (F Fund);

•dividend (C, S and I Funds) or interest (F Fund) income credited to the funds;

•interest on short term investments while contributions are awaiting investment;

•income from lending securities (C, S and I Funds) or notes and bonds (F Fund) on a short-term basis;

•administrative expenses, including management fees paid to Barclays, which are about 0.06 percent, or $.60 for every $1,000 invested in the C and F Funds and about 0.05 percent, or $.50 for every $1,000 invested, in the S and I Funds; and

•trading costs.

In addition, the I Fund fluctuates relative to the U.S. dollar’s value against the currencies of the countries in whose stock markets that fund has investments.

http://www.clubfed.com/financial/TSP.htm

The fee structure is quite similar to that paid by companies with 401(k) plans. The G fund is in government savings bonds. The others are corporate investments, except for the F fund, which is a mix of government and corporate bonds.

The fees are calculated monthly.

Beyond all that, the value to the investment houses is the market power they exert with that huge sum of money....

Cheers.