[En Chile se ha discutido algo sobre el problema de que los trabajadores están forzados a cotizar en los fondos de pensions (AFPs) y después tienen que tomar prestado ese dinero para vivir, gastando mucho en los altos intereses, especialmente de las tarjetas de crédito de grandes tiendas. ¿No sería posible buscar mecanismos para devolver ese dinero a las familias para que puedan acumular riqueza sin perder su pensión? Comparto en este post una idea al respecto, se agradecen de antemano los comentarios, así como sugerencias de posibles colaboradores para desarrollar más el argumento. La propuesta está escrita de modo traducible a varios países, incluso aquellos con sistema de reparto en las pensiones, como EEUU. Mi idea es seguir desarrollando el argumento para luego mandarlo al foro de alguna revista de vivienda y urbanismo para estimular el debate al respecto.]
Think about this paradox: Low-income families put money into the financial market as pension savings, and they pay interest and mortgage insurances to obtain those savings, or rent to landlords who access those savings. Basically, by having their savings locked until retirement, they contribute to capitalists’ accumulation while they cannot accumulate wealth. Or put this the other way around. Low- and middle-income families cannot accumulate wealth, among other reasons, because (a) they cannot afford a down-payment to buy a home and drain their income in their rent, without accumulation; (b) if they can buy a home, they pay high interests because they are considered risky; and (3) may lose their home by defaulting on their mortgage. Yet, they have often saved more money than they needed to get the loan, prevent the default, and make them less-risky subjects of credit. Is there a way to prevent this cycle of capitalist appropriation of wealth by renting other people’s money?
I want to propose a policy solution to this problem that, while apparently reformist, challenges a major pattern of capitalist accumulation in our financialized economy. Continue reading
Estudios de la Economía 