1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:08,800 Speaker 2: I'm here with Teresa Gillarducci. 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 3: She is the professor of economics at the New School 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:12,719 Speaker 3: for Economic Research. 5 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 2: And you are a thought leader. 6 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 3: A lot of folks on Wall Street go to you 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 3: for advice on how to deal with what they think 8 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 3: of as a retirement crisis. But there are some divergences 9 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,639 Speaker 3: here and what people think the solution should be. You 10 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,639 Speaker 3: think of Larry Fink, for example, Blackrock is now working 11 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 3: to announce partnerships initiatives over years to even work on 12 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 3: the average age of retirement, encouraging people to work longer. 13 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 3: You recently came out with a book debunking a lot 14 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 3: of that, thinking what's the discrepancy here? 15 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: Well, if I was in a room with Larry Fink, 16 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: I would say, look, what you do at Blackrock is 17 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: a solution that you're managing money. You're managing wealth for 18 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: all America to say for their retirement. 19 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 4: That's a really good thing to do. 20 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: And Americans need to build more wealth for retirement. But 21 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: if you think, mister Fink, that people working longer, maybe 22 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: just a one year or two years longer, will mean 23 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: that people won't go into their old age without being 24 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 1: downwardly mobile into poverty from being a middle class worker. 25 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: Or you think that working longer will maintain people's living standards, you'll. 26 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 4: Be wrong for eight reasons. 27 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: The first reason is that he and everyone else might 28 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 1: think it just makes sense to work longer because people 29 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: are living longer, and that's actually not true. Not everyone 30 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: is living longer. There is a slice of the population 31 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: that have had good health care, have had the kinds 32 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: of jobs that enhance their health and their well being 33 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: and their skills, and they're living longer. So white men 34 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: are definitely living longer than they had before. But there 35 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: are some parts of our economy, of our America where 36 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 1: actually the longevity is going down. Deaths of despair, the suicides, 37 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: the opioids, the addiction, even the kinds of jobs that 38 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: people have are foreshortening their lives. So the inequality of 39 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: longevity and healthy longevity is really disproportionately distributed, so they 40 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: can't work longer. 41 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 4: I have six others. 42 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 3: But let's harp on that for a moment, because a 43 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 3: lot of people on Wall Street believe that working longer 44 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 3: is a solution just because of how healthcare has gotten better. 45 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 3: Let's get a little more specific on who it doesn't 46 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 3: work for and how large is that population not being 47 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 3: addressed if. 48 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 2: This is a solution. 49 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: Well, I've been in these rooms for about forty years. 50 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: That's how long my career has and ever since I started, 51 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: when Social Security was being cut and pensions were going 52 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: on the wayside and there were more four one k's 53 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: or do it your self type systems, we all knew 54 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: that people would not have enough given that we did 55 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: not have a good pension system, and so people thought, well, 56 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: for the small group of people who are blue collar 57 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:16,399 Speaker 1: workers brick layers, they will be able to be disabled earlier, 58 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: but for everybody else, the work is going to get easier. Well, 59 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: in forty years, that has not happened. Now think about 60 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: it for a while. A lot of jobs that aren't 61 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: blue collar work have become pink collar. And pink collar 62 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: jobs are jobs that women do very much in the 63 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: service sector, taking care of older people, taking care of children. 64 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: That requires a lot of heavy lifting, a lot of 65 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: stooping and bending, a lot. 66 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 4: Of physical activity. 67 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: And those jobs break bodies down. There are also a 68 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: lot of light blue collar jobs or semi pink collar 69 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: jobs that require a lot of engagement with the computer, 70 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: and the computer has made some aspects of jobs easier, 71 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: easier on the knees, but the requirements for intense concentration, 72 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: keen eyesight, and actually be able to speed up your 73 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: work because of increased surveillance has actually made those jobs 74 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: harder too. 75 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 4: And when you add up all the. 76 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: Complexities involved in jobs that older people have, those jobs 77 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: actually can raise cortisol levels, increase inflammation, and cause more 78 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: metabolic disorders and early death. So a lot of the 79 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: jobs that people have are expected to have in old 80 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: age are actually the kinds of jobs that will break 81 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: bodies down and are accelerating sickness. 82 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 2: That's the impact on the individual. 83 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 3: It seems like the retirement burden in a lot of 84 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 3: ways has shifted from employers to the individual. At the 85 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 3: same time, there's a question of whether a lot of 86 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 3: these jobs will be supported at that age level. 87 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 2: How do you see that conundrum working out? 88 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, there are some businesses that are hoping that 89 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: they'll be a big supply of desperate. 90 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:16,239 Speaker 4: Older workers ready to work. 91 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: Those jobs are in home health care and personal care, 92 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: So we have one of the biggest industries. Everybody is 93 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,160 Speaker 1: in this personal care. They're destined to add over a 94 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: million jobs in an economy where we'll only add about 95 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: eleven million jobs over the past ten years. A good 96 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: ten percent of the new labor force will be these 97 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 1: jobs and just that one occupation. But business services janitorial 98 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: work again disproportionate amount of older workers. I think those 99 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: businesses really like the fact that these workers are very, 100 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: very cheap, and they're very desperate. The fact that jobs 101 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: are breaking down their bodies really isn't of a concern 102 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: of the employers, but we will. Part of the crisis 103 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: is that the lucky ones. 104 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 4: Will be able to get those jobs. 105 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: The part of the crisis that I think that many experts, 106 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 1: including Larry Fink, doesn't understand is that most people cannot 107 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: decide when they retire. They are retired. They don't retire. 108 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 1: The verb and the agent is really on the wrong person. 109 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: So fifty two percent of people who say they are 110 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,599 Speaker 1: retired said they were forced to forced to retire either 111 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: because of their knees or their metabolic disorders, or just 112 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: the stress of the job they couldn't take, or they 113 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: had to take care of their spouse, but also because 114 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: they were pushed out or laid off. So this idea 115 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: that workers can just decide to work longer is also 116 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: a myth, because most people cannot decide whether or not 117 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: to work or not. 118 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 3: There's another problem here, whether you're on a state or 119 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 3: local pension plan. Here, pensions across the entire country are underfunded. 120 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 3: There's a separate issue as well with the four oh 121 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 3: one K plans, where a lot of people are not 122 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 3: saving enough to retire on. Whose responsibility ultimately is it 123 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 3: to make sure that there's enough money for this population 124 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 3: to retire on. 125 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: We can say that it's up to the eighteen year 126 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: old to be financially literate and to understand that when 127 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: they get out of school or start work. Because half 128 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: of eighteen year olds don't even try college, it's not 129 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: an appropriate place for them. And you could think so 130 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: it could be on the individual, and then people say, well, 131 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: it's up to their parents to tell them what to do. 132 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,239 Speaker 4: Well, a lot of children did not pick the right parents. 133 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: That was a joke, But it's really important for us 134 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: as society to realize that there's a lot of wealth, 135 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: including knowledge and wealth actual wealth that it's handed down, 136 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: and a lot of debt and a lot of burden 137 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: that is also handed down So the answer to your 138 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: very point of question, whose responsibility is, I'm going to 139 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: say it is unreasonable to think that is just the person, 140 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: individual person's responsibility. No other country requires the individual to 141 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: do so much for their retirement planning than the United States. 142 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 4: So when we moved away. 143 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: From traditional pension plans where if a worker worked, they 144 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: were just put into a plan that money was managed 145 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: for them, they couldn't choose, and we moved to four 146 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: oh one ks where the worker had to decide how 147 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: much to invest, whether or not to invest, and had 148 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 1: to choose an employer that actually provided the plan. 149 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 4: Most employers do not. 150 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: Most people now eighty three million workers right now today 151 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: as we're talking, are employed, but they're not employed in 152 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: any kind of setup where they can save for work. 153 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,599 Speaker 1: So the employer doesn't even have to have any responsibility 154 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: for it. And the government's responsibility is to give a 155 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 1: tax deduction to an employee that happens to save. Well, 156 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: who are those They're the highest paid and they have 157 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: the sort of the best employers. So the tax deduction, 158 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: the government's responsibility for savings is only going for the 159 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: very top, So that eighty percent of our two hundred 160 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: and seventy billion dollars we spend the government spends on 161 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 1: retirement savings is going. 162 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 4: Eighty percent of that is going to the top. Twenty's 163 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 4: got a. 164 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,440 Speaker 3: Call to eliminate the tax deduction. 165 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: Now, yes, my colleague Delicia Manel and her Republican counterpart 166 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: came together to call out what I'm calling out, So 167 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: we're agreement there. This is a very expensive and regressive tax, 168 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: but it does help some people save for retirement. 169 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,239 Speaker 4: So why get rid of something where. 170 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 1: If it works for one slice of the population. All 171 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: I'm saying is, don't leave the eighty three million people 172 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: who don't have access to retirement plans out of this 173 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: big bonanza. So perhaps we can put a cap on 174 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 1: it and make it less expensive and more efficient by 175 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: not giving away thousands of dollars a. 176 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 4: Year to people who don't need it. 177 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 1: So we could cap it, but we also could broaden 178 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: it so that everybody can get some help from the government. 179 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:29,679 Speaker 4: I'm still going. 180 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 1: Back to your question whose responsibility is it? And it 181 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 1: is the system's responsibility to get people to accumulate money 182 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: for their retirement earlier in life they accumulate Social Security credits. 183 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 4: You know, there's no. 184 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: Choice about whether or not you're in social security or not. 185 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: We would even the most conservative Republican would not call 186 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: for making social security voluntary. So why do we have 187 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: our pension system, the other vital part of the pension 188 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: system accumulating money, having it managed by Black Rock or whoever, 189 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 1: why would we make that voluntary? And the countries around 190 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: the world that have a system that's graded A or 191 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,199 Speaker 1: A minus, there's an international grading system of pension systems. 192 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: None of their advance funded, pre funded part of their 193 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: pension system is voluntary. 194 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 3: This idea of voluntary social security. There are real concerns 195 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,320 Speaker 3: under the surface and how to fund social security for 196 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,080 Speaker 3: the long term. A lot of concern outside of the 197 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 3: baby boomer generation on how America's money gets filtered into 198 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 3: America's youth as they age. 199 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 2: What's the fix? 200 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, so the fix for social security is to put 201 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: more revenue in it. We are past the point where 202 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: we can fix social security. 203 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 4: By cutting benefits. 204 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: That is a non starter because the benefits for social 205 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: security are keeping almost all of the people on social 206 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: security above the poverty level, everybody below a certain amount, 207 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: so it is a vital anti poverty device. Cutting it 208 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: would just make the system even more grim, so we 209 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:15,560 Speaker 1: need more revenue into it. 210 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:19,079 Speaker 4: The Social Security actuaries back in the day. 211 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: I mean this is in the thirties again renewed in 212 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: the forties, fifties, sixties said that social security will need 213 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: revenue from general revenues. We should not just be dependent 214 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: upon the payroll tax to fund the whole thing. So 215 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: there are many, many easy fixes to social security, and 216 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: it really requires just more money. 217 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 4: Pot from other pots. 218 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: Capital gains, lots of other places we can get social 219 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,520 Speaker 1: security revenue. The key thing as an economist is whether 220 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: or not the amount of money needed will break the bank, 221 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,559 Speaker 1: you know, will break the economy. And we're nowhere near that. 222 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: We spend much less in terms of our GDP on 223 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: the elderly that their countries. 224 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 4: Even if we fully funded. 225 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 1: Social security, we would still be under the international averages. 226 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 4: It's less than half of a percentage. 227 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 3: It's interesting to hear you say that capital gains can 228 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 3: help find social security. 229 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 2: How much would that help fill the gap? 230 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 3: And also wouldn't that be a transfer of wealth from 231 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,040 Speaker 3: the investor class to the broader public. 232 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: Well, you know, the investor class is part of the 233 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: broader public and part of the conversation we've been having 234 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: for the past five years is that if you only 235 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: try to protect the investor class and let them be 236 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,960 Speaker 1: involved in the wealth accumulating part of our economy, the 237 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: investor class may be threatened by the collapse the very 238 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: economy they're benefiting from. So I think with Ray Dallio 239 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: and even Larry Fink, there's a very much a recognition 240 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 1: from the investor class. 241 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 4: I was just the Milk And. 242 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:58,200 Speaker 1: Conference that if we have a wealth building institutions in 243 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:00,679 Speaker 1: this country, everybody has to be part of it. 244 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 4: So back to social Security. 245 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: I did a calculation that if Elon Musk paid for 246 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: social Security just on his salary for the entire year, 247 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: and some of his capital gains were taxed to fund 248 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: social security, just one person, it would save one twentieth of. 249 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 4: The deficit in social security. 250 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: Imagine broadening that out to maybe twenty thousand other people. 251 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,480 Speaker 4: To gently this is not very much. 252 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: You don't have to raise a tax rate to any 253 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 1: perceptible amount, but just helping share in the funding of 254 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: social security, we could solve that problem overnight. The problem 255 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: with not funding social security and not having an actual 256 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: report to say, hey, it's funded for the next twenty. 257 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 4: Five years, is it? 258 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: It depresses the savings rates of ordinary Americans. I we're 259 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: finding out in surveys that people are saying, I'm not 260 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: saving for I'm not saving for retirement, I'm not building 261 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: wealth because social security won't be there. The worst as 262 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: the worst cultural norm that you could flame that would 263 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: reduce the savings rate is fatalism, and not dealing with 264 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: social security is inducing a fatalism that is suppressing the 265 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: savings rate, which actually suppresses the motive for people to 266 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:31,239 Speaker 1: save for their own retirement. 267 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 4: So it's interconnected. 268 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 3: So the fix for those eighty three million people, as 269 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 3: you're talking about, is social security part of that fix 270 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 3: or is it something else? 271 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: It's social security has to be part of it, but 272 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: there has to be something else, which is much bolder 273 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: than the kind of moving the needle legislation we've seen in. 274 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 4: The last forty years. 275 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: And almost everybody everybody I talk to agrees, from the 276 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: very highest investor class to the person who just did 277 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: my makeup this morning, is that we need to get 278 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: people saving for their life cycle needs, their retirement earlier 279 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: as early as possible. So as soon as someone starts 280 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: working and having to pay into Social Security is exactly 281 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:19,119 Speaker 1: the moment they should. 282 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 4: Start paying into their own account. 283 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: And there is a bill in Congress, not even just 284 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: in the House or just in the Senate, but both 285 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 1: in the House and in the Senate, and not supported 286 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: by just Republicans or Democrats, but supported by both Republicans 287 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: and Democrats. So it's a bipartisan bi camerole simple fix, 288 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: and that's called the Retirement Savings for Americans Act are SAA. 289 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 1: And what it does is everybody who's not in a 290 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: pension plan now, So all of your listeners who are 291 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: in the business and selling for one keys to companies, 292 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: this does not apply to them. 293 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 4: It only applies to all the people. 294 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: Over half of workers who do not have a retirement 295 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: account now and won't next year, that they will be 296 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: automatically enrolled into a government administered pension plan, a national 297 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: pension plan. Automatically they'll save three percent. And if their 298 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,359 Speaker 1: earnings are below the median, so that's half half of 299 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: workers in this eligible set, the government will match five percent. 300 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: And everything we know from behavioral finance, from just case 301 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,880 Speaker 1: studies is that when you include a match, something flips 302 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: in people's brain. 303 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,160 Speaker 4: They're not fatalistic about retirement anymore. 304 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 3: It's interesting, this sounds very close to what we see 305 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 3: in some other countries, similar to something like a super 306 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,160 Speaker 3: fund or even a sovereign wealth fund of its own kind. 307 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 2: For America, that kind of idea. 308 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,480 Speaker 3: Is something that you and a lot of the folks 309 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,680 Speaker 3: that are running these big financial institutions would agree on. 310 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 3: Why would that be the fix? How hard is that 311 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 3: to accomplish? Who manages the money? 312 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:12,640 Speaker 4: Yeah? 313 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 1: What I've been working for a lot of years with 314 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,560 Speaker 1: many different people, many of them you know on Wall Street. 315 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,199 Speaker 1: I co authored a book with Tony James, who was 316 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: the president of. 317 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,359 Speaker 4: Blackstone at the time. This was the fix. 318 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: I wrote a paper with Kevin Hassett, who is Trump's 319 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 1: top economic advisor. We all agree that we should take 320 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:42,439 Speaker 1: examples from other countries where they build a capital fund. 321 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: Capitalists love it because it provides a capitalist fund and 322 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 1: everybody is involved. And the Democrats love it, you know, 323 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 1: because it actually provides economic security. Republicans should care about 324 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: economic security as well. But there's something for everybody. It 325 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:03,479 Speaker 1: is like a soft and wealth fund, which is a lot. 326 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,400 Speaker 1: It's an asset that matches a liability, and that liability 327 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: is that a population ages and can't work forever. 328 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 3: So one big problem that a lot of Americans have 329 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,879 Speaker 3: is getting down, as you've been saying, to save early on. 330 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, some people are living. 331 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 3: Many people are living meant paycheck to paycheck in which 332 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 3: they find it difficult to save. 333 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm so glad you asked that, Sonali. We are 334 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: finding in fact, in practice and in surveys that the 335 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,879 Speaker 1: lowest paid workers are the ones that want to save 336 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: the most. They're not financially illiterate. It's actually the opposite. 337 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: They're keenly aware of the hardships that they're facing, and 338 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: they know that having a wealth cushion is really important. 339 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 4: I've interviewed Latino mothers in. 340 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: Chicago and Los Angeles as part of a project that 341 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: did that, and they said, to us, give me a 342 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: pension plan that's my own and that my family does 343 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: not have access to, because if I try to save 344 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: anything for my retirement, I have to use it for 345 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: my family members. That's very much part of what wealth 346 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: building is for. 347 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:20,960 Speaker 4: Different communities. 348 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: So if we don't have a place where people can 349 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: save for emergencies and also save have it protected for 350 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: their life cycle, no one, not except the elites will 351 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 1: be able to take advantage of compound interest. 352 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 2: The question of who manages the money, yes, fun like this. 353 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 2: I think it's an important one because you know, I 354 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 2: think the money management industry. 355 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 3: Wakes up every day to try to meet these retirement needs. 356 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, are they meeting 357 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:48,640 Speaker 2: that need? 358 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 4: Well? 359 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,479 Speaker 1: The retail managers have a very different platform than the 360 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 1: institutional managers. I'm a big fan of traditional pension plans, 361 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: the ones that state local workers have, and many of 362 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,280 Speaker 1: the unionized workers in big companies or the companies that 363 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: don't want to be unionized, so they provide a good 364 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:13,680 Speaker 1: plan like the like the non union car companies. What 365 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,679 Speaker 1: they do is they pool money. And this is what 366 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: the government plan would do. The government would not manage 367 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: this money. It would be managed just like the defined 368 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: benefit plans of actually the World Bank or the State 369 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:30,919 Speaker 1: of California. They would be managed by institutional investors. But 370 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: more importantly that the dollars invested into those kinds of 371 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,159 Speaker 1: pool professionally managed funds will go a lot further than 372 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 1: the four oh one K money today. 373 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 4: Right now, we provided. 374 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: A system to American workers that is guaranteed to not 375 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:53,159 Speaker 1: give them the best fee adjusted risk adjusted rate of return. 376 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 1: Because the poor individual has to decide where to what 377 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:02,639 Speaker 1: portfolio to get them on the efficient frontier, completely impossible 378 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: for a worker who has to deal with building a 379 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 1: building or teaching an English class, you can possibly do. 380 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: So we have a system that is not aligned with 381 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:18,440 Speaker 1: the capabilities of the people that have the most responsibility. 382 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: So the money would be funded in the sovereign Wealth 383 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: Fund by professional private money managers. 384 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 3: So there was a recent story in the New York 385 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,120 Speaker 3: Times with the question was the four oh one K 386 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 3: a mistake? In cites your research, was the four to 387 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 3: one K a mistake? 388 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: Yes, the four oh one K system was a mistake. 389 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,679 Speaker 1: If it was meant to be the retirement system for 390 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,439 Speaker 1: all Americans, it would have been called the retirement system 391 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: for all Americans. Instead, it was named after an obscure 392 00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: part of the IRS Code, and it was meant for 393 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: a completely different purpose. It was meant to supplement social 394 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: security and traditional pension, but because of several factors, it 395 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:08,440 Speaker 1: became a retirement savings plan for just a privileged part 396 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: of the of the American economy. 397 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 2: This idea of a pooled retirement plan, a giant. 398 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,680 Speaker 3: Super fund let's call super fun of the super fun 399 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 3: for the sake of this conversation. For in Australia, this 400 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 3: is kind of one of the closest examples that there 401 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 3: is even that's underfunded. 402 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, so why would this be the right fix? 403 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: Well, you know, you always have a growing liability in 404 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: any kind of pooled fund, and you saw that with 405 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 1: Social Security. It's always had a drop dead date of 406 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: twenty years, but it's lasted for seventy five years. No, 407 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: there are many funds that aren't underfunded, and in fact 408 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:51,600 Speaker 1: those good funds are are funded because they the money 409 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 1: always comes in. In this super fund you know that 410 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: would be created, it would be always one hundred funded 411 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: because because no money could come out that wasn't put in. 412 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:07,680 Speaker 1: The magic is is that the money going in would 413 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,600 Speaker 1: be invested well, and it's not invested well in a 414 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: four h one k. So this idea is a hybrid 415 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,679 Speaker 1: fund fund between a defined contribution to find benefit. But 416 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,160 Speaker 1: this fund would always be one hundred percent funded. 417 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 3: So in the world of money management, there's a large 418 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 3: and growing debate about the role of private assets. This 419 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:31,439 Speaker 3: whole idea that private assets, given that there is some 420 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,959 Speaker 3: room to wait to pay out some of the pensioners 421 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 3: or retirees that these private pools of capital can be 422 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 3: used to increase yields in the interim, or even some 423 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 3: say that there's a liquidity myth that exists in public 424 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,120 Speaker 3: markets versus private markets. But we are at a point 425 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:52,720 Speaker 3: where you're seeing pensions asking private fund managers for their 426 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 3: money back. They're having trouble getting it back in many 427 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:58,880 Speaker 3: instances as well. Why would private assets be any sort 428 00:24:58,920 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 3: of fix. 429 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, I get that it's not a fix for an 430 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 1: individual fund. An individual having private assets along with liquid assets, 431 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: and a four oh one K account is very difficult 432 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,480 Speaker 1: to manage for exactly the reason you want. Four on 433 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: one ks are not long term investments. They're fully liquid. 434 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,640 Speaker 1: A person can take money out of that account. Remember 435 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:28,400 Speaker 1: my Latino mothers and so we Congress call them retirement accounts, 436 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: but they're not retirement accounts at all. I told Congress, 437 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 1: I think just several weeks ago, I was in front 438 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: of a Senate committee. I said, Congress, call them the 439 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,600 Speaker 1: Great American Emergency Savings Act, our savings accounts, but have 440 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: a real retirement account. A real retirement account is not liquid, 441 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: and therefore the asset that is not as liquid as 442 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,080 Speaker 1: a public market assets is the appropriate asset. 443 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 4: So only you get this. 444 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 1: We have this system where we're trying to match short 445 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: term assets with long term liabilities. It's a huge, giant 446 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:10,719 Speaker 1: asset mismatch that is costing Americans their old age and 447 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: it's costing the American economy a huge inefficiency. So a 448 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: super fund would be an asset that has long term 449 00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 1: ill liquid liabilities as well as others, but it would 450 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: match this long term liability each worker has, which is 451 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: their life cycle needs. 452 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 3: So to be clear, you think private assets make sense 453 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 3: in a longer term pooled portfolio, but not. 454 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 2: In a four oh one K plan. 455 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I know I'm up against some of my 456 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,359 Speaker 1: friends that are trying to sell them maybe little itsy 457 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 1: bitsy parts in an account, but no, because the four 458 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,159 Speaker 1: oh one K is a liquid account. And even the 459 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,560 Speaker 1: private asset managers will say, yeah, it's not for someone 460 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 1: who demands liquidity. And what I'm telling them is that 461 00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:04,440 Speaker 1: every four or a one K holder will demand liquidity 462 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:10,160 Speaker 1: because they the leakage in these plans, you know, are gigantic. 463 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 1: It's dooming the system to be a retirement plan, and 464 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:15,479 Speaker 1: therefore it's not a good asset,