AHEM… show me where the Democratic controlled Congress has CHANGED any of this? The only thing they HAVE tried to do is make it invisible so we don’t have any PROOF of their fraud.

That huge pile of surplus money we have just sitting up there in a vault in D.C.? Last time I checked we were in debt past the moon and back.

Suppose you give each child $5,000 at birth, put it in their social security account, and let the market have at it with secured investments. Suppose these investments grow, over the life of the child, at 6%. (Yes, I know real estate tends to grow at 3% on the average, accounting for hot markets, and that the stock market tends to grow at 11%, but 6% is a fairly good number, albeit a bit conservative). Accounting for inflation, here are the numbers :

Inflation @3% (which compounds annually)
$5000 is worth $8,574.25 in 18 years.
$5000 is worth $10,575.10 in 25 years.
$5000 is worth $35,058.02 in 65 years.
*Subtract the inflation amount from the appropriate totals.

Investment @6% (which tends to compound monthly in a market setting)
$5000 is worth $14,683.83 in 18 years.
$5000 is worth $22,324.85 in 25 years.
$5000 is worth $244,623.50 in 18 years.

And this is IF they don’t add ANYTHING with their paychecks. If they do, the numbers look a bit better:

Investment @6% (which tends to compound monthly in a market setting, plus a $100 monthly contribution)

$5000 is worth $53,419.15 in 18 years.*
$5000 is worth $91,624.25 in 25 years.*
$5000 is worth $1,203,117.50 in 18 years.*

*Note that for these, I’m presuming that the parents or someone is adding in $100 per month to the account from the time the baby is born to the time when the person starts taking over their own payments.

Now, I’m not a financial expert, but it looks to me as if something like this could very well work in setting up systems of government funded education to the collegiate level. (Yes, I know you abhor the idea of our government educating our children and would rather see a completely private system, but the fact is that publicly funded education has had a net positive effect on our country.) Even better, this money would likely be tax free (though I’m not so sure about the gains on the money). Presuming that the money is allowed to accrue tax free, then even paying a percentage upon collection will allow the person to take care of themselves in their olden years, if not used for defined, limited purposes, such as education, or a home. Indeed, this may be how we save a “public” system of social security: by allowing the market to help out, in a controlled fashion (we wouldn’t want a market crash when these people are 64 to wipe out their savings, would we?) And before they drew the money out, how about mandating fiscal responsibility classes?

Now, what about child mortality? If no money has been invested, then that money could be given back to the government to pay off debts. This, of course, COULD be tax free. Of course, depending on the child mortality rate, he compounded money may make its way to government coffers, which can either (a) serve as a way of reducing the deficit, or (b) be given to the family. Of course, I don’t like that second option because it might encourage infanticide. I don’t like the plan because it might encourage an increase in the child mortality rate — or at least a stop of decrease — in areas which need more money budgeted. But that’s just paranoid.

On a final note, you talk about the $27,000 per person owed for the deficit. Need I remind you that, were it not for this $500,000,000,000 war we’re in (that’s half a trillion dollars, by the way), and tax cuts so massive over the past year we’ve needed to borrow money FROM A COMMUNIST NATION WHO’S BEEN ACTIVELY SPYING ON US AND BUILDING UP THEIR MILITARY, and horrific pork barrel projects during years of Republican dominated government, we may still have that budget surplus Clinton and the Republican congress were able to put together during the 90’s? You know, the one that was supposed to clear the deficit by something like 2010?

I’m not a fan of Billary, but this does NOT seem at ALL like a bad idea, although, like you, I pretty much abhor the idea of “anchor babies.” A kid’s citizen status should be the same as his parents until the child is old enough to take this responsibility on their own.

Just because you crap a tricycle motor on our soil does not an American make.

You’re arguing semantics Dave and not the issue. Do you support increased debt spending to “help out” every single baby in the US? Where will that money come from? The pit the Democrats AND Republicans are digging in our national debt?