Private investment and 401ks are fundamentally different. There is an account, with your name on it, and that money is yours. Short of government theft, no one can take that stuff away from you, because it absolutely is YOURS.
But the government doesn’t have any money. There is no box with your name on it. There is no stash of YOUR money. The government isn’t dipping into the pile that YOU paid into and giving you YOUR money. What the government is doing is dipping into MY pocket, taking MY money and giving it to YOU.
And you think the government is entitled to do this, because you are OWED.
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
Actually, private doesn't lock that money up in a box. It is loaned out and put to work. The risk is minimal with quality institutions, but there is risk.
The government isn’t dipping into the pile that YOU paid into and giving you YOUR money. What the government is doing is dipping into MY pocket, taking MY money and giving it to YOU.
While I understand your point, I'm on the paying side still and for a long time.
I think everyone got conned
I make my own plans, assuming it won't be returned. But I won't go quietly into the night while others are paid and my funds never returned.
CCG, we've may have had this discussion before. SS was sold to us AS a retirement program, and as you pointed out, many of us have been paying into for decades. What exactly are you proposing? That people decline their SS? That they send their checks back, or refuse to cash them?