And the Great Timing Award goes to...

..Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, who earlier this week, in his redundantly named "Roadmap Plan" revived George Bush's brilliant idea of privatizing Social Security:

This proposal addresses the shortcomings of the current system and strengthens the retirement safety net by providing workers with the voluntary option of investing a portion of their FICA payroll taxes into personal savings accounts. Due to the higher rate of return received by investments in secure funds consisting of equities and bonds, these accounts would allow workers to build a significant nest egg for retirement that far exceeds what the current program can provide. Each account will be the property of the individual, and fully inheritable, which will allow workers to pass on any remaining balances in their accounts to their descendants.

Yesterday the Dow-Jones Industrial Average closed down 268.37 points. Much of the gains of recent months have been wiped out.

And this isn't a one-day blip, either. The world economy is once again teetering. Latvia has 23% unemployment. Greece may need a bailout.. Portugal has debt concerns. Spain is in hock up to its eyeballs too.

So of course, with markets reeling all over the world, it's a perfect time to tell Americans that they should trust their retirement to these markets.