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Brian Ross

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief , TheRossGroupFT LLC

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Put the collection of health care and retirement funds at U.S. Treasury and use funds to lend to banks and states for infrastructure.

Keeping health care and retirement savings a function of private funding puts millions of Americans futures not only at the mercy of a corporate America that has demonstrated that it has neither the means nor the the desire to provide for the long-term welfare of their employees, but it also reduces human potential and output when people trap themselves in dead-end jobs to hold on to the promise that they will be cared for when ill, or have a poverty-free retirement.

Universal Health Care and retirement is possible. Workers pay in over their lifetime for benefits. The money would be managed by the Treasury, which should lend the money out to banks prior to use of Federal Funds and to states with infrastructure projects being repaid by municipal bonds.

Public vesting provides the security that 401Ks and other pension plans cannot. It also could provide enough funding for a universal health care system that simplifies the system and puts the emphasis back on care, not collections by physicians and hospitals.

My full thought is at my blog: http://truth-2-power.com/2011/09/07/the-missing-link-to-human-potential-universal-health-care-and-a-real-social-safety-net/

Topics: Health Care Funding Retirement United States Treasury governance health care reform human rights infrastructure politics
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  • Seth Powell 10+

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    Sep 14 2011: Brian,
    No, we should not use our citizen's retirement and health care contributions as lending capital. I often think of what might have happened if President Bush had succeeded in transforming Social Security (and thus channeled public monies to private firms, just as your proposal would do) and the affect the 2008 Wall Street Crash would have had on senior's SocSec funds. It would not have been pretty.

    The entire purpose of engineering a public retirement program was to allow our citizens a way to save for retirement without having their capital subject to market forces. I feel your proposal would do just the opposite.

    I think you have good intentions, though, and recommend you look into the differing ideas surrounding an official "Infrastructure Bank."

    SEP
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    Brian Ross

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    Sep 12 2011: The Congress would need to pass legislation that changes the funding procedures for Social Security and Medicare. Instead of the current Trust fund, the funds in trust would be moved to Treasury in national trust, and give Treasury the right to loan out monies from the funds to banks and to state governments for high-rated municipal bonds on public works projects. The Congress would also expand medicare to cover everyone, and should allow participants to pay more into Social Security where the additional funding plus interest on that money goes 100% back to the contributing citizen.
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    Joe Delsen 20+

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    Sep 12 2011: Brian, I was just thinking about that idea too. We work for our basic rights that should sustain us until we pass away and our retirement or healthcare funds should be invested in our biggest economic power - our government. What are the practical ways to implement this?
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    Chris Aldon 20+

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    Sep 11 2011: Please don't give anymore to the banks.
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      Brian Ross

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      Sep 11 2011: The banks borrow from the Treasury at the prevailing federal funds rate. The Treasury could lend monies from the health care and pension funds first to put the money to work. Also, funds could be made available to States by way of higher yield state infrastructure municipal bonds that the states sell to Treasury. The state pays off the interest to the feds, and it goes back into the fund. Essentially it is not altogether different than a 401K invested in the mutual fund, save the Federal government has no profit motive and can be bound to keep risk factors low.
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