We’ve run across some dingbat ideas, but this one may take the trophy. Senators Bill Cassidy (R, LA) and Tim Kaine (D, VA) have sponsored legislation that would stash $1.5 trillion in a federally-managed investment fund. The dollars would be invested in the stock market and the returns stored in the mythical Social Security “trust fund.”

What could go wrong?

You can read about the idea here:

Cassidy was one of the ringleaders last December in an absurd $200 billion raid on Social Security to pay windfalls to government workers.  Now, he’s supposedly the program’s bipartisan savior.

Under this scary plan, the United States government would become the largest stockholder in the S&P 500. You think ESG is a problem now in corporate boardrooms, wait until the politicians are the major shareholders in GE, Google, and FedEx. This is a government takeover of the means of production.

The real solution is to let every young worker in America invest their 12.4% payroll tax dollars into a 401k-style retirement plan that they own, with the money invested in an index fund.

Over 50 to 75 years, this plan winds down the unfunded liabilities of Social Security to zero and we have a fully funded defined-contribution retirement program.