Chuckie the Camera Hog Schumer Does Something Useful

It's a Social Security benefits calculator, that shows you how big your cut would be under Bush's plan.

The calculator assumes an investment return of 3% above the rate of inflation for your private (what they call "personal") account. So if inflation is 2%, the assumption is a return of 5%. This is the assumption used by the Congressional Budget Office for its Social Security analysis. The rate is then adjusted to reflect an annual administrative cost of 0.3%. The dollar amounts are shown in inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars.

The bottom line: Unless these so-called private accounts can generate an ANNUALIZED (not total) rate of return over their lifetime of more than, say, 5%, you will get screwed.

Don't forget the disclaimer that every investment ad has in it, as required by law: "Past performance is no guarantee of future results." It's there for a reason.