Regarding the persistenig gulf between the have and the have nots, as long as the top 5 % of the population have harvard yale Standford etc.and the rest 95% at best can graduate from college with their life, if not with achip on their shoulder the gap will remain increasing untill, the Chavez, Castro model overpowers the rich barons

The people who can afford to put away a little money in a 401K do so through their employer..they don't need, nor want a government run 401K. This won't fly any higher than Bush's plan to privitize SS. Working people contribute to their SS through payroll taxes. Do away with that tax and let those who want to, invest the way they want.

Universal 401k's is Social Security by another name. And isn't Social Security going bust? Every day that a fix is not put in place means two more days closer to this watershed event. I have a better plan: You go to work for a company that has ten or more employees, that company has to have a 401k or equivilent plan. You are automatically enrolled at the level which matches the company match or 5 percent of your gross wages, which ever is more. Companies will be encouraged to provide matching funds as they will be allowed to reduce their Earnings before Income Taxes and Amortization (EBITA) dollar for dollar up to 10% of there Income Expense (that is wages they pay.) Employees below the age of 25 will be exempted from paying Social Security (but not Medicare until a suitable replacement is found) and so will the employer. Barring choices by the employee, they will be enrolled in the closest target mutual fund offered by one of the major mutual fund companies. This moves monies out of the hands of government, where it should not be in the first place, and into the hands of the employees when they reach retirement. Social Security will be slowly phased out of existance beginning with those of sufficient means (let's say you make 50k/year this year in retirement, regardless of age, you receive no SS benefits and have to write a check each month for Medicare parts A & B.) Each year, this amount will DECREASE, unless you have a waiver (say you are the widow/widower of someone who was eligible but you only have SS plus a pension 'leftover' or have suffered a major outflow of funds (loss of homestead due to natural disaster).)
The elimination of Social Security should be a goal of the 110th Congress, not keeping a broken and illegal system around (Social Security is basically a Ponzi scheme and these are illegal in most cases, immoral in the rest.)

This is, essentially, what President Bush was aiming at when he was pushing privatization. Unfortunately, the entire issue was politicized beyond belief and made into "President Bush wants to kill Social Security for old people". Of course, lost in the politics was the fact that people over a certain age would still be vested in Social Security while those under that age would be allowed to participate at different levels so nobody would be left with nothing at retirement.

I think folks are making too much of a leap when a universal 401(k) is likened to "Social Security by another name." We have IRAs, and these funds aren't alloted to just one "pot" as Social Security is; people have a choice as to where these funds go. A universal 401(k) would just be a different investment vehicle for retirement. I have wondered why 401(k)s are offered solely through employers. Practically all income earners are able to fund an IRA; on the other hand, 401(s) are restricted by employment situation.

Read the book "Money Driven Medicine" Consumption is a very small part of health care costs. If this is going to work companies that make money from healthcare need to lay off advertising. No NOT R&D that is a myth! Advertising and redundant technology are the biggest costs. Until I see that addressed I think a Universal Health Plan is the only answer.

I think Social Security should be a voluntary tax ... if you pay into it ... then you can draw from it when you retire. Even though I'm paying into it now, I would rather keep the money and invest it into my personal retirement plan. I am extremely conscious about my retirement planning and contribute heavily into my 401k, IRA and brokerage accounts (even on a modest income and with little investment skill). When I sit down and forecast the income that I will receive when I retire, I ALWAYS consider the amount of social security that I will receive to be $0.00. I plan on receiving NOTHING. Even though I'm paying considerably into Social Security .... I'm planningl on getting nothing .... not a very good investment !!!