[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1798]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, Baron Rothschild once said, ``I do not know 
what the seven wonders of the world are, but I do know the eighth: 
Compound interest.''
  Mr. Speaker, Baron Rothschild called compound interest the eighth 
wonder of the world for a good reason. Modest amounts of money, when 
invested, and then reinvested, grow over time in a spectacular fashion.
  Every American deserves the right to save a portion of their FICA tax 
and control it in a tax-free account that can be invested in an 
authorized group of funds, just like a 401(k) or a pension plan.
  This could save Social Security permanently without a tax increase or 
a benefit cut. It would ensure that the poorest worker would have a 
savings account within 6 months of starting work. Within a few years, 
that worker would be a saver and an investor, getting the benefit of 
investment return, earning compound interest at competitive rates, not 
just Treasury rates. For younger Americans this could produce 
retirements at three to six times the wealth they would get from the 
government system, and it would protect the system from collapsing when 
baby boomers retire.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to save and strengthen Social Security, and this 
is a good way to do it.

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