college, military sewice and 35 yews with a sizable coqmate enterprise. 1 have no di71iation with or 

vested interest in any private or public entity that might stand to gain should eurt.ent laws or pwhs 

of post-employment income change or remain the same. 

9 dhkpars.-- - . . . -- - -~ -7 ~- -- . , - takeYes, swcaat pgress has been, made in the last century. Worker's cornpewtion laws have been 

I would like to bgin by sharing a true story in onla to illustrate that (in spite of the cmt system's 

shortcomings) we have come a long way in providing employee security. My stepfather was born in 

the yew 1900 to a large family of limited hial resources in New Jersey. Ufnecessity, he dropped 

I outofschoolatage 16dobEainedempioymentina~ind~plant. micalofeouIy2@ 

century American business, working cond'ions wue as follows: 1) 60 hour work week consisting +W 

10 hour days. 2) No worker's compensation hmm protection since these state by state laws were ': 

just beginning to emerge. 3) No heahh, dis8b'i, or rehmcnt hefits we^ provided as well. The 

upshot of this is that this I6 year old boy suffed multiple industrid accidents during his several year A 

kme with this &m, including loss of d &gem qmating heavy mchhq that lacked even 

enacted in all rrtates providing both medid care ad shottflozlg term dkbirlity benefits for work related 

accident ad sickness. The wlal wmrity system was mated prior b World War TI; initially to 

provide a source of retirement income aad later expanded to include long tertn disability benefits. 

Dekd befit (traditional) retiraneat plans merged following the War in nspopse to a combination 

of wlldve bargaining demands by Iabor unions and the gmwing -on 

inadequate ss a primary source of d~ment income for tbe nqjoaity of workers 

Although not dimtly related to retiremat income, a number of other significant worker bendts have 

come into being. The "at will" employment doctrine has been correctly eroded by laws -biting 

wo~lace discrrmtnmrt! - * 'on regarding age, sex, disability, race, etc, Important kgiilatian commonly 

known as ERISA was enacted to funds set aside for future retire benefits as well as a 

reporting system to minimize hud and abuse, 

/ 

1 

1 

I 

~i~~~orguardiog.His~ra~nnsew~tos~tbeeatapriscfor~~iaInl

virtual hnpsibility for a hdy wid^ Wted hu~ces. Fmtmately, the story has a better ending in 

that he Is- formed a successful business with several fhdy memh and ultimately retired to Florida 
. - 

Anothers~crtntchangebeptoem~~~tbetypeof 

changing attitudes abut Hwwlr" by both emp10yers and employee 

questioned the oost and philosophy of Won& defined benefit 

poplation shifts, grow& tread toward working capk and other fhctm were resulting 

kquent job chmges. in other words, her pqle were 

their working years with a single b, thus dig much 

since they largely compute bf3ts based years of service 

defined contribution plans which emphk portability as peolple change 

fbmd to ultimate rethnd. 

Another subtle, but sipiiicant, driving force Mind these 

reinforcing this kind of individual responsibii 

employee contrihtim, 2) giving employees 

portability to mlI over funds witbout aea~@ die events when chmgiq jo 

In spite of the above enhancements to the 

(along with mmy not cod 

lhis century, and the following come 

Distribution of Walth, There are c 

revenue to pay for such pmgmms. 

antiquated and overly complex income tax system. It is &surd that at a the when we want citizens to + 

assume geater fiscal responsibility for hat weperpetuate a system that rewar& consumption I 

and does We to encourage saving, I have hd numm nasons for decades why a VAT taxation .--. d * 7- 

bad system is not practical. If it is the right Wng to do, we can figure out a way to make it happen. '1 > 

Fkd Respomibility. hcspdve of one's political parFy aaiation, it is ck thott spending at both r .+ 

federal and state levels is out of control and we continue to amass debt that will negatively impact 

cwrnt d future gadom. Unless lhh trend is reversed, the ability b cohance retirement hmme . {' i. 1 

for a broader spectrum of Americans is largely a moot pohL ' -4 

1 ,

Social Zkpmibility. The current higbly polarizal state of ow two major politid groups, pmticulsrly . , f ' I' 

in Washington, makes it dificult (if not impossible) to reach consensus on what is our collective 

respomibiIity to help our citizens enjoy a reasonable and secure living standard during retirement. Are . 

- ,?- . = . we to adopt an attitude of limited responsibiliry in a be market society wherein each person is largely - 

I - , a 1. ' 1 
who are less fortunate. 

Recornendat ions: 

kfme the problem, including the pros and cons of the current state of 

adequacy in the United States. 

Recommend changes to the present income tax laws that encourage (and reward) higher individu 

savings rates. Move away from a pmly inme based approach. 

programs, Individual retirement phs (such as Ms), private life insurance and tax advantaged 

annuity programs, etc. Iat's simplify pmgrms and not creak another bureaucracy! 

Assess the potentiaI for creation of 40lk defined ahbution group or gwemmeatal sponsored 

programs for small businesses who do not (or cannot afford) to provide retirement plans. 

.. . 

. .. . 

.-., <. 

2 .' , 1. 

Sincerely, 

vw ulyl