John Allison, the former chairman and CEO of BB&T, the nation’s 10th largest bank, told CNSNews.com that one of the solutions to the long-term fiscal problem facing the U.S. government is to let younger people opt out of the Social Security system.
"What we need to do is get rid of the long-term program,” Allison said of Social Security in an “Online With Terry Jeffrey” interview. "And the way to do that, even though it may create some short-term funding problems, would be to offer people privatized programs for retirement and effectively offer people under a certain age the option to get out of Social Security.”
Allison said he believed Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R.-Wis.) proposal to allow workers to put part of their payroll tax in a personal retirement account that they would convert into an annuity when they reached retirement age was a good practical solution for Congress to pursue on Social Security, but that personally he would like to see people entirely liberated from the entitlement program, letting them plan and save for their retirement free of government compulsion.
"You know, if you look at what killed democracies in the end, it’s always lack of personal responsibility,” said Allison. “And it’s when 51 percent of the people find out they can vote a free lunch from 49 percent, and then 60 percent want a free lunch from 40 percent, and then 70 percent want a free lunch from 30 percent, and that’s the end of the party.
"All of this dependency on the federal government ends up attacking and almost punishing personal responsibility,” said Allison. “And America was built on the idea of individuals that are personally responsible and, therefore, have a personal right to control their own lives. And that’s what’s been under attack.”
Allison became president of BB&T in 1987 and was elected chairman in 1989. He remained CEO through 2008. He is now distinguished professor of practice at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business.
Read the interview here
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4 comments:
Interesting article. And scary too. I'll probably be dead when America goes bankrupt but my kids won't.
What he said makes sense and has been proven by history.
If only someone in congress would listen.
it's a mistake to think they will save for their own old age.
How ironic... The president of BB&T talking about dependency on Federal Government? Maybe his bank shouldn't have accepted 3.1 Billion in TARP money from the government.
I'm 29 and I agree that people 30 and under should be ineligible for social security retirement, while a pool of benefits should be available for those who are disabled. But what people can't seem to grasp is that this would not eliminate ss withholdings from young workers. Our dollars pay for the same benefits seniors receive today.
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