The government has decided to build an 11-mile section of high-speed rail in western New York somewhere between Rochester and Buffalo. There aren't many passenger trains that go that route and there are no local stops anywhere along that line.

It's a piece of engineering a few people want and even fewer people will ever use. It's the classic definition of doing something because we can, not because we need to, of taxing the many for the benefit of the few.

Likewise, the much-aligned annuity is a solution in search of a problem. While politicians, the press and academia have long touted its goodness, industry pros, plan sponsors and even investors have avoided annuities like the plague (see "Why 401k Plan Sponsors and Investors Lack Cupidity for the Annuity,").

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Christopher Carosa

Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).