John H wrote:
You are almost totally correct. The public does not 'like' the plan because
they've been fed a bunch of crap by a bunch of 'progressives'.


Really? You mean President Bush is now a 'progressive'? He seems to have
done by far the most talking about his plan, and he has certainly been
less than truthful (as I have already proved to the previous contestants).

And now for a treat (this one took me by surprise)-

The plan the government gets now is called the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
allows government employees to contribute, but the money is not reduced from
their FICA. If the employees are under the old Civil Service Retirement System
they don't pay FICA, but they can't draw Social Security. Under the Federal
Employees Retirement System, the new plan, they do pay in to Social Security.
But, they don't get a reduction in FICA for money paid to the TSP. On the other
hand, FERS employees get a matching contribution (like a 401K) up to some small
percent of their pay.

DING DING DING we have a winner! Excellent post, John H, thanks for your
clear & accurate explanation!

DSK