Obviously, investing in a private retirement account would solve her problems.
It wouldn't do much today, but in 25 years it would be the difference between living below the poverty level (and if you relied on SS for your entire retirement, you screwed up royally) and living comfortably. P.S. Thank you for your service to our country 16 years before I was even born.
It would help her family in the long term. Obviously anything is better than letting the fat cats in congress spend 12.4 percent of her income on earmarks.
The government confiscates 12.4% of Brendas income and sends it to my mother. In return she receives a revokeable promise from that same government that when she is old enough they will confiscate money from someone else's salary and give it to her. Private accounts would allow Brenda to keep a tiny portion of that 12.4% for herself and even pass it on to her heirs if she happened to expire before the government's approved age. How can that be a bad thing?