“How about just getting rid of Social Security and letting people decide their own savings?”
Social Security is the only system of a guaranteed retirement, small (and in my opinion only supplemental) but guaranteed. If we get rid of Social Security, what are people supposed to use as a safety net, treasuries that can go below 0% in returns? Even pensions which by definition are supposed to be “guaranteed annuities” are no longer safe.
I happen to be firmly against privatization of Social Security. I was just surprised that when this case came to light and Rush saw his own neighbors get hit, he was spooked and let it slip that he thinks Social Security privitazation would be dangerous.
Yes, let people do as they please with 401k and individual retirement accounts, but if you think that retirement safety nets are unnecessary, then maybe you should look at the 5 recession/depression business cycles of the 19th centurty, the 1930s or what is still yet to come currently.
“If we get rid of Social Security, what are people supposed to use as a safety net,...?”
Can you tell me where the government is tasked with taking care of each individual citizen’s retirement needs? Do you not realize over 150 years government understood it had no business being anyone’s ‘safety net’ other than providing police, courts, military and republican forms of government.
We’d have a lot less liberals doing nothing productive, and workign for a living. Same with lard-butts living off the forced charity of others. Taxes would be lower because the government wouldn’t have all these social programs that never seem to truly help anyone and never fix the problems they are intended to. With less taxes people could be freer to donate more and private charities would expand taking over helping the truly needy, and people would get tax breaks for their donations.
That’s how it used to work. That’s how it should work.
***If we get rid of Social Security, what are people supposed to use as a safety net, treasuries that can go below 0% in returns?***
Savings. If people are smart they set aside some of their income to be used in emergency situations or for retirement. Without SS tax people would have an additional 7% to set aside. Dumb people would blow all their income on consumption and would be in a bad situation during hard times. But why should I have to subsidize their bad behavior if I prepared adequately?
People are trapped by this idea that someone else has to manage their finances for them otherwise people will be left to their own devices. God forbid!
Besides the Constitutionality of such a program is dubious at best.
Explain where social security is constitutional.
Get rid of it unless you want to write an amendment for it. Otherwise the system is illegal.