Fair play in Social Security

摘要

Anybody who follows the news might have trouble reconciling recent tales of two different Americas. The first speaks Ebonics, a form of black English used by African-Americans in the nation's underclass. The second is the America envisioned by would-be Social Security reformers—a country of savvy individuals who'd shrewdly invest retirement nest eggs once the nation's premier social safety net was "privatized." If you're puzzled about how the first America squares with the second, prepare for more confusion as the debate over repairing Social Security proceeds. That's because various reform plans cut differently along class, racial and income lines—and may make it tough to meet the interests of many beneficiaries without seriously injuring others.