If you think the stock market is bad...

With the stock market losing over a third of its value in the last year, it's sort of becoming generally accepted popular opinion that, "Wow, we sure are lucky that whole 'privatize social security' thing didn't pan out." Al Franken is even running a commercial in which he proudly proclaims that he will "fight any attempt to privatize Social Security."

Gee, thanks, Al, for promising to guarantee a rate of return of, at best, 2%! Good thing social security wasn't privatized in 1965:

If you invested $100 in 1965 at Social Security’s rate of return, today you would have $254.91. But if you invested that $100 in the market, today, even with the current down market, you would have $4,135.92.

Source: Cato@Liberty