When Jane dies, her kids get burial expenses from Uncle Sam. If Joe gets very sick, with costs beyond those covered by his health insurance, he can take money from his bank account. Jane has no bank account. If Joe decides to travel around the world, he can take money out of his bank account, buy a new suitcase and a funny hat. Jane, lacking wealth, just keeps getting her monthly check.
Wealth is better than income.
If, over the din of demagoguery, that is explained in the course of the campaign, George Bush will come out ahead of Al Gore. What's risky is to do nothing. If Social Security policy remains unchanged, Jane will receive only about 70 percent of her benefits in the 2030s. Gore says it's too risky to invest pension funds in the stock markets. He found that, after discounting for inflation, stocks went up an average of 7 percent per year.