Make your own financial decisions without the polls

In the near future you will not only be bombarded by sales pitches from supporters of Social Security privatization (through advertisements, town hall meetings, phone calls, etc.) but you will also hear a lot about polls. Unfortunately, these polls can be very misleading depending on who is behind them (and to find that out is a difficult task these days since many so-called supporters and opponents of privatization do not have to disclose their identity). For instance, if Fox News is conducting a poll you can almost always expect that Americans overwhelmingly support personal retirement accounts. Similarly, other organizations will make their own claims based on their polls. There are truly no unbiased polls. (Related article: Personal retirement account debate highly politicized)

So how is this possible that in two different polls, Americans can say entirely opposite things? The secret is in the way questions are asked and then how the results are interpreted. Let us look at a poll conducted by Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security (CoMPASS). Compass is a conservative organization working closely with the Bush administration to privatize Social Security. What do they say on the basis of their poll? They use the data to attack AARP that is strongly opposing privatization. Similarly, another poll by United States Chamber of Commerce, a business group closely aligned with conservative groups and Bush administration, finds that there is strong support for the Bush proposal. (Related article: Americans want retirement security, not politics)

The reality may be quite different. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, just one in three Americans actually wants personal retirement accounts and the number is declining rapidly. In fact, the more the president talks about privatization, the lower the support as the fine print becomes clear to more Americans. This survey, and others that show only modest support for privatization, ask the questions more directly. The polls commissioned by conservative groups talk in more general terms about problems with Social Security and completely ignore the issue of Bush's current proposal.

So what can you do? Make up your own mind and do not be guided by what polls are saying. The way you would do your own financial planning and budgeting, you should also do your own research to find out if personal retirement accounts make sense for your situation. Look at your lifestyle, savings, age, commitments, etc. and then figure out if you would be better off with or without personal retirement accounts.

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