Social Security has been “politicized,” BlackRock Chair and CEO Larry Fink said March 12, which prevents discussions about the program that Fink contended “doesn’t grow with the economy.”
“We've politicized this, and so we have no conversation. It’s (that) you're frightened of talking about Social Security in this city,” Fink said at BlackRock’s Retirement Summit in Washington.
Fink commended Australia’s superannuation system, contending that “the beauty of that plan, unlike Social Security — and I know we can’t talk about Social Security in this country — but the beauty of that plan (is) you’re investing in real assets, you’re investing in equities … and if your country grows, you’re growing with your country.”
“How do you have that conversation? Because it boils down to some version of privatized Social Security, which you kind of rightly said, is just a toxic political conversation to have,” asked Liz Hoffman, Semafor’s business and finance editor.
“Why is it toxic, Liz?” Fink fired back, adding, “It’s not privatizing. I mean, we put in these words to make it toxic.”
Fink contended that it’s important for Americans to “feel that (they) have ownership” in the country. When asked who would hypothetically manage Americans’ investments, he responded, “We have great plans at state levels. We have the Federal Thrift plan, which is one of the best defined contribution plans in the world.”
Separately, Fink said he expects to see inflation in the short term.
“I would not be surprised to see elevated inflation over the next five months … but I do believe this is going to be more short term,” he said, contending that things may improve “once we understand the policies” of the Trump administration.
Fink added that “we should not be surprised in having a market setback. We've had really an unbelievable three-year run. The market can test itself and reorient itself, and I do believe over the next five years, markets are going to be higher.”
In February, top executives from Australia’s A$4.1 trillion ($2.6 trillion) superannuation funds industry attended a summit in Washington, where they met with senior officials from the administration to discuss investment opportunities in the U.S.
