Let’s get small

Noting that Alan Greenspan was worried about large-scale borrowing to start personal savings accounts, the Minuteman hits on a solution:

Well - here is a true "One Minute" compromise that may not only make sense, but revive the long abandoned premise of this blog: lower the transition age for eligibility for personal accounts from 55 to, say, 35.
This will imply much less transitional borrowing, at least early on, and give participants many, many years to reflect on the consequences of their decision and to plan accordingly.

Viking Pundit approves! The key to Social Security reform is baby steps. Start with small voluntary personal accounts for younger workers and it would severely undercut the objections of both fiscal conservatives and the anti-reformists who knock partial privatization because of the transition costs. Open that door just a little and – if personal accounts are as successful as we think they’ll be – the political pressure to expand the ownership society will only grow. [Disclaimer: I just turned 37 this past Monday - hooray, I'm ineligible!]