Thomas W. Jones Quotes
What is the alternative to Social Security for those at the lower end of the income distribution whose personal savings by definition are not going to be that high? There really isn’t any.
Thomas W. Jones, President TIAA/CREF, Quoted in The Washington Post, August 20, 2007
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
18 years later, his son—George W. Bush—made the “nutty idea” one of the main planks in his Presidential legislative program. After the younger Bush traveled the country selling his reform ideas, the public came down on the side of his father and rejected the President’s “nutty idea.”
This statement was quoted over and over by his Presidential opponent, Lyndon Johnson in the campaign of 1964. Although, a wealthy person could on the average do a little better with a private investment of equivalent money and a disability insurance, those citizens of less wealth could not do so as easily. And few could obtain the disability and survivor benefits that comes along with Social Security. Goldwater wanted to make Social Security Voluntary, and most Americans thought the Goldwater prescription for Social Security would kill the program and did not support him. Conservatives have argued for this idea ever since, including Geirge W. Bush who made it a centerpiece of his administration’s program. It was rejected by the voters, and most of those were proven right when with the 2008 stocks had lost 50% of their value—the people who had retired and depended on their return from investments were mostly in terrible trouble. And of course, even in good times, some people who invest in the stock and bond markets do well and some do poorly. What would society do about those who lost most of their retirement. Let them starve because they invested badly?
Thomas Wade Jones (born 1949) is senior partner of TWJ Capital LLC. Previously he served as chairman and chief executive officer of Citigroup Inc.'s Global Investment Management from 1999 to 2004. He joined Travelers Group as vice chairman in 1997 and served as chairman and chief executive officer of Smith Barney Asset Management until October 1998. Prior to joining Travelers Group, Jones served as vice chairman of TIAA-CREF, the largest pension system in the United States, from 1995 to 1997, president and chief operating officer from 1993 to 1997, and chief financial officer from 1989 to 1993. From 1982 to 1989 Jones served as senior vice president and treasurer of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.
