In fact, even those battered and bloodied tech stocks could enjoy a strong rally, if House Speaker Dennis Hastert succeeds in creating millions of new capitalists. The idea is to allow younger workers to direct a small portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into private investment accounts, which they own and manage. Prior to this year's campaign, when Vice President Al Gore portrayed Social Security reform as an evil plot to rip off oldsters, this idea was gaining bipartisan momentum. During my visit last week to Hastert's office, the Illinois Republican made it clear that he's highly dissatisfied with the returns currently offered by Social Security. That's just how we do business today.
Some people get a negative percentage back.
That's just not good enough. Hastert's quiet style may build consensus while allowing others to grab the spotlight, but he will promote a reform similar to the one proposed by Sen. John Breaux, D-La. Under the Breaux plan, and unlike the current system, workers would actually own these assets. So when people are ready to retire, they aren't completely dependent on politicians to live up to their promises. Washington has either cut benefits or raised Social Security taxes more than a dozen times since the system began.