Chileans Decide Their Privatized Social Security Sucks

NYTimes (01.10.06), via Economist's View:

"Michelle Bachelet is a pediatrician and a Socialist, while Sebastián Piñera is a billionaire businessman and a conservative. They may agree on little as the opposing candidates in Chile's election for president, but they concur on one important point: the country's much vaunted and much copied privatized pension system needs immediate repair." Chile's Candidates Agree to Agree on Pension Woes

Remember once upon a time last year when George was hailing the the "Chilean system of personalized accounts managed by private funds" as "'a great example' from which the United States can 'take some lessons'"? In case you don't, Perfessor Mark helps refresh our collective memories. "Here at home [in Chile], though, dissatisfaction with the system has emerged as one of the hot-button issues in the election, a runoff that will take place on Sunday." "'Most people perceive the costs of pensions and the pensions themselves as unfair,' said Patricio Navia, a political science professor at New York University and at Diego Portales University here. 'Many of those who started work when the system was first adopted are realizing that they have not been able to contribute enough to get a significant pension,' Mr. Navia said, adding that they resent 'overhead costs that are so high' and that have led to record profits for the pension funds that manage contributions automatically deducted from workers' paychecks." That old Social Security ain't looking so bad now, is it.