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I Have a question, VF.

"•Phasing out of the Entitlements beginning with making participation in Social Security an individual personal choice."

If Social Security is already insolvent with mandatory participation forced on every legally working American alive today, how does it not merely become less so when huge chunks of the workforce are allowed to "opt out?" Mind you, I'm not arguing for the current system, I'm just trying to imagine how this "fix" can actually be a fix?

And if your answer, or part of it, is, "Make sure that all funds paid into the system are kept safe within the system," how do you propose to do that? Would not that act alone guarantee the solvency of the current arrangement?

Interesting, but not bulletproof. IMHO

A plan that anticipates and makes provisions for human nature would have a better chance of success. Huge piles of billion$ of dollar$ (as in a "Social Security Trust Fund" per se) are not safe when/if under the control of the D.C. election addicts.

The phasing out of the entitlements will be a challenging complex issue that will require Reagan Wing candidates to explain to the electorate a course of action that is as fair as possible with regard to people covered by Social Security. Here is what I would propose:

Working people who are presently paying into Social Security through their FICA taxes will have the option to opt out of Social Security. The contribution paid by employers will still be collected by the government as a tax and used to pay benefits to present and future beneficiaries. The opting out worker will be able to keep the part that is normally taken out of their personal paycheck as the employee payment and use it for whatever purpose they see fit. It is their money.
People presently drawing Social Security benefits or those about to draw who opt out will be given zero coupon bonds with staggered maturities based on their life expectancies and the benefits they would be projected to draw. They would be able to sell their bonds to anyone at any time for any reason.
The government's cash flow drain will be favorably affected by substituting the zero coupon bonds with staggered maturities in place of the annuitized payments that beneficiaries normally draw.
The options will belong to workers and beneficiaries not the government. Any cash flow shortfalls in Social Security will be made up from general revenues until SS is basically voluntarily abandoned and ceases to exist.
Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, welfare and every other entitlement is unconstitutional, morally wrong, and economically unfounded. These programs should be abolished over a one to three year phase out.
There are some common misconceptions with regard to health care. Not having insurance does no equate to being denied health care.
The majority of health care dispensed/utilized in the United States is not essential to life or the preservation of health; it is dispensed/utilized because somebody wants it and somebody else has been willing to pay for it.
It is almost pure myth to believe anybody in America has ever been denied essential medical care because of the inability to pay. And the rare examples that might exist, would not predictably be changed regardless of any health care insurance scheme.
More health care misadventures probably occur from over-utilization than would ever occur from a lack of the ability to pay for needed services.
Until the income tax is abolished, health insurance and medical expenses should be deductible to anybody who pays them.

Experience gained over time and through the developed wisdom of open discussion in an environment where term limits moot some of the political repercussions of such discussion should hopefully establish a steadily improving environment for dealing with difficult problems in a responsible way rather than purely for political motives.

Here’s a few thoughts off the top of my head.

Give folks the option of simply getting paid back, when they reach retirement age, the money they put in, in one lump sum, no interest and no business portion included.

I would take it...and then invest it myself. This would be far less than they are apt to pay out over someone’s life expectancy these days. but also allow the individual to grow that amount through their own investments.

Establish a certain age where people can opt out just as VF says, have another option where their money can be taken out, but invested wherever they indicate, including the market, with them taking the risk on losses, but the chance on better profits too.

Ensure that it is really an inviolate trust fund that cannot be raided. Subject anyone, including politicians to stiff criminal penalties for any cockeyed legislation, or other gimmickes that do try to raid it.

Human nature is certainly what it is, but most company’s trust funds for retirement are kept solvent...and the ones that are not, if there is any raiding going on end up costing people huge fines and jail time, as they should.