Economy shows dark side of ‘ownership society’

For years, President George W. Bush has promoted an “ownership society” that gives citizens a personal stake in their financial health, as affected by their choices in health care, retirement investing and the like. Today, that dream looks more like a nightmare.

The president’s plan to replace Social Security with private savings and investment plans died in Congress two years ago, and though health savings accounts are becoming more popular, they show no signs of taking over from traditional insurance plans.

Bush remains committed to the concept, which he has said will “bring stability to people’s lives,”Bloomberg News said. But it’s a tough sell at a time of falling housing prices, record foreclosure levels and a stock market that has shed more than $700 billion in the past month. Recognizing that, Bush has used the term “ownership society” only once this year, Bloomberg said, versus three dozen times in 2004.

“We have to be realistic” about investment risks, Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale University and the author of “Irrational Exuberance,” told Bloomberg. “A lot of people who promote ownership societies have kind of a glib optimism,” he said.

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