You put in detail what i said generally. That the American system was designed to fail and any chance it had at success was eliminated when what little was being put away was redirected elsewhere.
The Canadian system has recovered nicely over the past couple years after an increase in contributions, decent market returns, the establishment of a committee to ensure growth and sustainability (and the implementation of many of their suggestions), and a general commitment to ensure a viable CPP system for our elderly.
The CPP is substantially different then the American pension plan system. And while not perfect, the Canadian system, and our preparedness for the coming seniors boom, is considered top in the world.
Is it any surprise that the American social system is failing to meet the needs of the poor and those who need it to the benefit of the wealthy and those who do not need it?
The American social program/support failure, and the societies general inability to help (just help) provide for the bottom ~50% of their population, is NOT evidence that social programs do not work but only that the wealthy politicians and their wealthy benefactors and the greedy people that help elect them are too self interested to give them a chance. The same reason that America ranks near the bottom of most every ranking of quality of life.
Quote:
If you subsidize something, you will get more of it. Anti-poverty transfers are no exception to this general rule. Transfers directed toward the poor encourage high-risk lifestyles (for example, the use of drugs, dropping out of school or the workforce, births by single mothers, marital dissolution, and abandonment of children by fathers). All of these choices tend to increase the number of people who are poor. These secondary effects may not be very important in the short term. Over the longer term, however, the unintended negative consequences will be more severe. In addition, the government anti-poverty transfers crowd out private charitable efforts by families, individuals, churches, and civic organizations. When taxes are levied to do more about a problem, private individuals and groups will predictably adjust and do less to alleviate the problem.
From an economic viewpoint, the failure of transfer programs ranging from farm price supports to anti-poverty programs is not surprising. When the secondary effects are considered, economic analysis indicates that it is extremely difficult to help the intended beneficiaries over the long term. Because behaviour changes when benefits are offered there may even be a perverse effect, as with the increase in unemployment caused by unemployment insurance, so that the situation is actually made worse rather than better.“
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So why is America, the first world nation with the lowest level of social assistance, the most impoverished? Why does it have the largest number (and growing) of people living in urban slums? Highest levels of violence and drug use? A entire social class of millions and millions of people living in absolute poverty with literally no chance of escape??
What i do know is why they have also have the richest peoples, and it is because middle class people buy garbage like this without thought. So that each year a VERY small number of them can join the rich while a substantially larger number can fall into poverty.
More CPP specific though, our system rewards people who are employed, make good money, etc., and punishes those that do not. Each year you get a receipt for how much you contributed and it shows you how much you will get upon retirement. People who do not or rarely contribute will get the bare minimum while the middle class will get larger amounts and the wealthy get nothing unless they fall into a situation where they need it. Hardly a blind transfer of funds...
Lastly in regards to your second post, the Montreal Economic Institute and the Fraser Institute are nothing but FAR right-wing, pro-anything-America, lobby groups of propaganda. Using them to support your argument merely proves my initial point, that "there is no evidence beyond [...] fear mongering on the far right that our CPP is not going to work."