What Is Their Plan for Social Security?

Cato Institute ^ | July 28, 2006 | Michael D. Tanner

[gth833s]

Yes,

but you probably have invested money for your retirement. While much of the united states did not think about it that far in advance. Personally I think I am going to start retirement fund during the next semester that I intern.

[Nick Danger]

My plan for Social Security is to default on it. They're going to default on it anyway, so let's get it over with.

The whole idea of taxing the generation that is raising the nation's young, and transferring that money to the nation's oldest people, is morally reprehensible and disgusting. Beggaring the young for the benefit of the old is the dumbest idea in human history.

Only "The Greatest Generation" could have thought up such a thing. Now that they're not around to defend it anymore, we can get rid of it. They got theirs, which was their point. Everyone since is going to get screwed on the deal. Why keep it?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Personally I think I am going to start retirement fund during the next semester that I intern.

A wise choice. Since your profile reveals you to be a college student, I'm assuming you'd be in your late teens or early 20s. At that age, I don't see a problem with starting a 401(k) or Roth IRA and investing your contributions quite aggressively (that's how I'm doing it, and I'm 39).

Of course, the best route would be to consult a financial manager, but I suspect he'd agree with me for the most part. :-)

[edzo4]

I suggest we suggest investing some of the SSI into big oil, then watch the liberals heads explode...

[EagleUSA]

No it won't run a deficit. The socialists will just raise the SS taxes on our working children like they always do when they spend all the money they have...the government SPENDS EVERY CENT of SS taxes collected EACH YEAR regardless of the fact they collect more than they need to pay out --- so there is no SS reserve of ANY kind. It is a tax, pure and simple collected every year and spent every year, like the drunken (on our money) socialists that they are...

[Brilliant]

Their plan is to let it go bankrupt.

[Alberta's Child]

At some point the whole concept of "payroll taxes" is going to disappear anyway, and we'll be left with two different types of financially astute people: 1) those who work for cash, and 2) those who figure out that earning dividends instead of getting a paycheck is a better way to earn a living.

[Sergio]

Save for later reading.

[speekinout]

What you propose is similar to what corporations converting from defined benefit retirement plans to defined contribution plans have done.
The sob stories are legion, as are the law suits. And people of all ages complain about being "discriminated against" (that's a politically correct way to whine).

I think that people who have been in a defined contribution retirement plan for some years (maybe 10 or so) will very much like to convert their SS to a private plan. I don't know if that will be enough to get the changes implemented before SS is in a real crisis, though.

[freedumb2003]

Anyone under 50 who thinks they will ever see a dime of SSI is living in a dream world.

The answer is that it collapse under its own weight but almost no one currently in Congress will have to worry about it at that time.

[stopem]

If they quit giving away the money and used it for its original intent it would have been fine. Instead they want to give it away to foreigners and people who didn't pay into it to begin with.

[EagleUSA]

Instead they want to give it away to foreigners and people who didn't pay into it to begin with.
------
And worse than that, they have robbed the monies for things other than social welfare. The U.S. taxpayer has been flat out robbed by Washington. That should be clear by now.

[Belasarius]

I just argued this till I was near unconcious over on the AARP forum. There is a guy over there neactuary who listed a few major points. We aren't on the same page at all over whether or not it's right to treat people that way.

Workers contributing is about 3. It's going to 2.1 and so we know exactly how bad its going to be.
They want to raise the rate (wrong word) back up to 90% so you (the rich) get socked on nearly every dollar you make.
They want to shift the proceeds from the inheritance tax to support social security. They would raise the exlusion to about 3.5 million. Voila, all payed for.....

[Belasarius]

Oh yeah, but I discovered in my debate on AARP that the main thing is the dems are really, really proud of Social Security. They think of it as the most successful government program ever. We are not on the same planet with regards to what we value as important. The idea that we would dump it in a heartbeat is galling to them.

[redlegplanner]

Interesting as this week I helped a co-worker figure out what the opportunity cost of the socialist mandated Social Security tax has been on him. Bottom line, if allowed to invest the employee and employer taxes, this ex-military, 58 year old, current Gov't Service man would have ~450k now to continue to invest and eventually live on. Best of all, if he chose to, he could pass some of the principle down to his sons. Instead he is looking at a marginal payback due to minimal rate of return, failed promises, and a probably shortened lifespan (stress, too many jumps). This program is immoral. At best it should be optional.

[goldstategop]

Agreed. We have three choices: raise taxes, cut benefits or privatize Social Security. Any politician who is against private retirement account ownership should get in front of the American people and spell out what taxes need to be raised or what benefits should be cut. All we're getting from the Democrats on the issue is demagoguery and from the Republicans we're getting fear.

(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)

[taxed2death]

"They" have a plan. The plan is to legalize all the illegals....and implement the "SS Normalization" plan thus increasing the numbers of suckers paying into this system and staving off a disaster for at least another two generations.