I am not sure I quite know what Arun is going on (he tells me I misunderstand him)
But he is a man full of energy whose ideas are gaining traction around the world. So I am inviting him to the Pension PlayPen so I can get things straight between us and in the process start what I hope will be a lively debate on what is one of our most pressing problems- how to turn pots and contributions into a wage in later age.
Arun impressed on Stefan Lundbergh’s podcast and I want to hear him speak again. We may end up falling out – but I doubt it. Apart from being clever, Arun’s a totalgent.
Arun is so keen to speak to us that he is presenting at 5.30 am in his time – he tells us that he may be in his pajamas, I suspect that we won’t be – but whatever – this looks to be one of the most exciting and argumentative sessions we’ve had this year.
http://www.alphaengine.net/Pages/Research.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH6vHt9Poto
Compare
My understanding is that the Selfie is a government issued bond that offers purchasers an indexed standard of living guaranteed by taxpayers. I live in the states where taxpayers are already concerned with insufficient funding of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – especially in light of $2+ Trillion in annual federal budget deficits for as far as the eye can see or the CBO cares to project, on top of $31+Trillion in national debt … AND … a debt ceiling stalemate. Congress continues to focus on the wrong stuff. See: https://401kspecialistmag.com/secure-2-0-more-impactful-stuff-plan-sponsors-dont-need-didnt-ask-for/
My understanding is that with a Selfie, the government is responsible to index returns for inflation (so, the government (taxpayers) shoulder the risk). That risk can be hedged with a VAT – as the tax burden automatically increases as costs increase.
Of course, in the states, there is no VAT. Despite that, we’ve experienced a significant increase in revenues … growing from about $2 Trillion at the turn of the century to $4.6 Trillion (FY 2023), while we have averaged less than 3% inflation (as measured by the CPI). But, spending has grown from about $2 Trillion to $6+ Trillion (FY 2023)!
Worse, many (most) American workers have experienced a decline in their standard of living decline – wages haven’t kept pact – obvious since the pandemic:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.htm#:~:text=Real%20average%20weekly%20earnings%20decreased,March%202022%20to%20March%202023.
In America, those age 65+, as a group, have much lower levels of poverty when compared to those ages 18 – 64, and those under age 18.
So, concerned about introduce new liabilities on future taxpayers.