”I was deeply impressed by the way José Piñera conceived the privatization of pensions in both political and economic terms. He did it by building a social foundation for liberal capitalism. This was the most profound challenge to the Welfare State in a generation.”

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NIALL FERGUSON, historian (The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, 2008)

 

 

"If you were asked to name one person who has enabled more people to gain wealth and security than any other person on the globe, who would you name? In 1881, here in Berlin, Otto von Bismarck started the world's first modern pay-as-you-go social security system which served as the model for the U.S. Social Security system and that of many other countries, including setting the retirement age at 65. No, Bismarck is not the answer to the opening question. The answer is José Piñera."

 

RICHARD RAHN, Chairman Institute for Global Economic Growth (The Washington Times, May 15th, 2008)

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"José, thanks for coming to Austin to share your wisdom. Congratulations on making a difference."

 

GEORGE W. BUSH, Governor of Texas and later President of the United States (letter to José Piñera, september 1997)

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"José, Without doubt, the reform of Chile’s pension system has been a critical  contributing factor — some have called it the mother of all reforms — to Chile’s ongoing economic success. The social security reforms which you developed and fought for have put your country on a stable footing for the future. Although the Chilean and North American experiences are different in several key respects, I believe we can learn a great deal from your country’s bold initiative, which is widely envied throughout the hemisphere."

MACK McLARTY, Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton (letter to José Piñera, January 1996)

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"José Piñera has championed the biggest, the boldest and arguably the most successful pension privatization of modern times."

 

BILL JAMIESON, Economics Editor (The Sunday Telegraph, XXX)

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"A radical transformation of social security has been initiated in Chile, and we should give it a close look. It is the creature of a young and brilliant Harvard Ph.D. in economics. His name is Jose Piñera and he is the Minister of Labor."

 

WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR., editor National Review (The Boston Globe, November 20, 1980)

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"No one has done more to empower workers to save and invest for retirement than José Piñera. His vision has spawned an investment revolution in over a dozen countries in South America, Europe, and beyond. José Piñera is proof that one person can change the world."

 

JOHN SUNUNU, US Senator (xxxx)

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”Jose, If you succeed in your efforts to privatize social security, I cannot think of any other reform that could compare in importance not only for our economy but also for the independence and autonomy of our citizens. I am absolutely overwhelmed with admiration for what you have accomplished and for what I am convinced you are going to accomplish. I don’t have words that are strong enough to convey my admiration for you and what you are doing”

 

NATHANIEL BRANDEN, Ayn Rand's foremost disciple and intellectual collaborator  ("Conference "Communicating the Message of Free Market Capitalism” sponsored by Foundation Francisco Marroquin; Santa Monica, California, April 15th 2003)

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"A Chilean friend of mine said to me that when the so-called recognition bonds came out, which essentially designated in a little passbook what their Social Security net worth was, everyone carried them around and waved them as though, you know, "I've got wealth, I've got a commitment to the economy, to the society," And I don't think we should shortchange that. It may seem a bit beside the point from an economist's point of view, but sometimes we economists have got to see a somewhat larger picture".

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ALAN GREENSPAN, chairman, Federal Reserve (testimony to the Budget Committee, US House of Representatives, March 10, 1998).

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"The Chilean system is perhaps the first significant social-policy idea to emanate from the Southern Hemisphere."

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JOE KLEIN, writer and journalist (Newsweek, December 12, 1994)​​​​​​

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"Social Security privatization is, nowadays, the single most important step toward a society of liberty. It combines personal freedom with widespread property ownership, and those are the pillars of a free society."

 

EDWARD H. CRANE, president Cato Institute (xxxx)

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"As an African American and former welfare mother, I can't imagine anything more empowering to the working poor than Jose's proposal of personal retirement accounts for everybody."

 

STAR PARKER, president of CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education  (xxxx)

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"One of the great things in this Free Trade Agreement is that we have some additional access in Chile to pension fund management, within a Social Security system that I wish we could imitate."

 

ROBERT ZOELLICK, United States Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative (Press conference after the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and the United States, December 11, 2002). 

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"There are famous pro-Americans, even on the generally anti-American continents of Europe and Latin America. Political reformers such as Vaclav Havel, who has spoken of how the U.S. Declaration of Independence inspired his own country's founding fathers. Economic reformers such as José Piñera, the man who created the Chilean pension system, who admire American economic liberty. Thinkers such as the Iraqi intellectual Kanan Makiya, who openly identify the United States with the spread of political freedom. All of these are people with very clear, liberal, democratic philosophies”.

 

ANNE APPLEBAUM, Pulitzer Prize for her book “Gulag” (In Search of Pro-Americanism, Foreign Policy, July/August, 2005).

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