Don't Trust Us With Social Security

Second, we can decide that freedom and responsibility are so important that we'll accept the consequences of failure. Workers who fail as retirement savers and investors, or who are simply unlucky, will just suffer the consequences. The increase in extreme poverty in old age would be trumped by the increased freedom.

I haven't yet heard anyone who laments the paternalism and coercion in the current system admit they're willing to accept this trade-off. Their arguments are based on a belief that a completely free retirement system would result in nothing but winners. Markets just don't work like that. On evidence, neither do saving and investing for retirement.

Until I do hear someone from the let-me-invest-my-retirement-money-how-I-want camp honestly confront the question of what happens to those who lose in that system, I'm unwilling to take the complaints of paternalism and coercion in the current system very seriously.