The American Dream
I've heard the American Dream summarized in a number of ways, most often "owning a house" and "doing better than one's parents". I have a better characterization, which is tied to the very reason America has been, and could continue to be, great.
Simply, the American Dream is to control one's destiny. Owning one's home is a way to control one aspect of that destiny, and assuming we can keep the Christians and the Socialists from propping our doors open, it gives us an inviolable personal sphere. Owning and operating one's own business is another aspect: it gives us a source of income that is dependent on our own efforts only, not on somebody else's whim or competence -- again, assuming the Christians and Socialists can be held at bay. I know, I know: you have to worry about employees, but that's where good management comes in. True Americans seek to create situations in which their welfare is completely within their control, where they don't have to rely on the goodwill or capability of somebody else, where they will rise or fall based on their own will and effort, not on somebody else's. It is the un-American, or the child, who seeks to place large parts of his or her welfare into the control of another entity.
So when I hear about the crisis facing the NPBGC, I stand amazed at the obviousness of the solution: don't count on anybody else to take care of you, if you can help it. And if you've got a salary with a company offering a pension, you can help it. Americans should push not for greater government control over corporate pensions, or tightening up ERISA, but to get their employers to let them opt out of pension plans in exchange for comparable increases in their pay -- and invest the excess themselves. If you aren't too savvy, you can work with a financial advisor -- the guy may be incompetent, and you might still get screwed, but unlike your corporation, whose economic interest is in making the company look good and giving high returns to shareholders, the financial advisor at least has an economic interest in preserving your assets.
Believe no one, and trust only those who earn it.
Simply, the American Dream is to control one's destiny. Owning one's home is a way to control one aspect of that destiny, and assuming we can keep the Christians and the Socialists from propping our doors open, it gives us an inviolable personal sphere. Owning and operating one's own business is another aspect: it gives us a source of income that is dependent on our own efforts only, not on somebody else's whim or competence -- again, assuming the Christians and Socialists can be held at bay. I know, I know: you have to worry about employees, but that's where good management comes in. True Americans seek to create situations in which their welfare is completely within their control, where they don't have to rely on the goodwill or capability of somebody else, where they will rise or fall based on their own will and effort, not on somebody else's. It is the un-American, or the child, who seeks to place large parts of his or her welfare into the control of another entity.
So when I hear about the crisis facing the NPBGC, I stand amazed at the obviousness of the solution: don't count on anybody else to take care of you, if you can help it. And if you've got a salary with a company offering a pension, you can help it. Americans should push not for greater government control over corporate pensions, or tightening up ERISA, but to get their employers to let them opt out of pension plans in exchange for comparable increases in their pay -- and invest the excess themselves. If you aren't too savvy, you can work with a financial advisor -- the guy may be incompetent, and you might still get screwed, but unlike your corporation, whose economic interest is in making the company look good and giving high returns to shareholders, the financial advisor at least has an economic interest in preserving your assets.
Believe no one, and trust only those who earn it.
posted by heavynettle at 20:52
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