S&P 500 Down 14% Since Bush Took Office -- So Much For Social Security Privatization

Today, the stock market took another major tumble, with the Dow Jones dropping 450 points (more than a 4 percent drop).

But much more importantly is the fact that the broader market (S&P 500) fell 57 points to 1,156 (almost a 5 percent drop). I say "more importantly" because one of the most popular 401(k) investments are index funds that track the S&P 500.

On the day that President Bush took office in 2001, the S&P 500 stood at 1,342.54, meaning that it has dropped 14 percent during his tenure.

Now realize that if Social Security privatization was in effect when Bush was sworn-in, those retirees who invested in the broader market would have seen their Social Security nest egg down 14 percent over those seven-plus years. Instead, they've seen an overall 12 percent increase on their Social Security benefits during that same time frame, thanks to annual COLA increases.

John McCain (R) is for Social Security privatization. Barack Obama (D) is against it.

Enough said.

Mark Nickolas is the Managing Editor of Political Base, and this story was from his original post, "S&P 500 Down 14% Since Bush Took Office -- So Much For Social Security Privatization"