David John is one of five experts who "exert more influence" on the Social Security debate than anyone else in Washington – and he is The Heritage Foundation's lead analyst on issues relating to pensions, financial markets and institutions, banking regulation, asset building, and Social Security reform.
In 2006, John lived up to this title, given to him by Congressional Quarterly, by working with Brookings Institution scholar J. Mark Iwry to come up with a "third way" to promote retirement self-reliance: the Automatic IRA.
Their approach would encourage most workers not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan to build their own low-cost, diversified individual retirement accounts. It would work much like a direct paycheck deposit to a bank account – a feature now common in the American workplace. Unless workers choose to opt out, they would be automatically enrolled in the generic savings program, with a pre-set contribution rate and diversified investment portfolio. The contribution amount and portfolio selection could be adjusted by workers to meet their individual needs. This approach would let workers accumulate pre-tax retirement savings in every job they hold, even when their employers offer no such benefit of their own.
This is just one of John's many professional achievements. Since coming to Heritage in 1998, he has written and lectured extensively on the importance of reforming the nation's retirement system. During this time, he has testified before a number of House and Senate committees on subjects ranging from Social Security and pension reform to improving the nation's flood insurance program.
In 2001, he testified before President George W. Bush's Commission to Strengthen Social Security, providing detailed analysis of how personal retirement accounts could be structured and regulated. John also testified before the House Budget Committee's Task Force on Social Security, explaining what the costs of transitioning to a system of Social Security personal retirement accounts might be as compared to the cost of running the current program.
In addition, John has testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on issues such as steps that should be taken to improve Social Security for women and minorities, how to increase the information that the public can receive about Social Security programs, and how the United Kingdom's pension system operates. He also testified before both the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the House Education and the Workforce Committee on proposals to strengthen the funding of defined benefit pension plans.
John has been published and quoted extensively in many major publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Times, Forbes, Business Week, and USA Today. He has also appeared on CBS News, NBC News, CNN, MSNBC, the Fox News Channel, BBC radio, and many other national and syndicated radio and television shows.
John came to Heritage from the office of Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC). He was the lead author of Sanford's plan to reform Social Security by setting up a system of personal retirement accounts. His Capitol Hill service also includes stints in the offices of Reps. Matt Rinaldo (R-NJ), and Rep. Doug Barnard Jr. (D-GA). While working for Barnard, John helped write one of the first bills that would have eliminated restrictions on banks to sell securities and insurance. He also authored a bill in 1981 that restarted the national commemorative coin program.
In the private sector, John was a Vice President at the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, specializing in public policy development. In addition, he worked for three years as Director of Legislative Affairs at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, and worked as a Senior Legislative Consultant for the Washington law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.
John earned a bachelor's degree in journalism, an MBA in finance, and a master's degree in economics from the University of Georgia in Athens.