MontaniSemperLiberi, OK let’s look at a few numbers.
the average monthly SSI check is $1,180.80
This amounts to $14,169 per year.
If we use age 65 as a starting point, the average life expectancy of 78 years would mean that we would end up paying a total of $184,204.80 over the next thirteen years per average recipient.
Using twenty million recipients as a guess as to how many might be willing to accept a one-time average buyout of $75,000 each to leave the system we need to borrow 1.5 trillion dollars. Lets say we do this at an annual percentage rate of 3 percent and pay it off entirely in those thirteen years we would otherwise have to send SSI checks out to these folks. Here’s the net result after all is said and done.
Total paid by taxpayers to do this after thirteen years is $1.856 trillion.
Total that would have been paid by taxpayers if no buyout is $3.684 trillion
To me, this seems to be a no-brainer, a 50 percent savings overall.
CommieCutter,
Ending social security would be the best thing financially for those with twenty or more years to start saving on their own. For one, what you save will be yours and no politician could take it from you or whomever you leave it to. Two, as current recipients die off, your rate of taxation decreases until over a period of time you pay no SSI. This is a 15 percent raise over time compared to what you are currently taking home. Investing just this alone would probably match or exceed what you think you might get from Social Security. The ones who end up being stuck somewhat are those who refuse the buyout opportunity and those between ten and twenty years away from being eligible.
At least those who refuse the buyout have a choice. The ten to twenty group won’t get this choice, BUT, they will get reduced SSI taxation so as to enable them to put money aside in their own private accounts. All of these scenarios involve a little sacrifice and a little reward, the primary one being an end to to this awful theft plan so that future generations are not screwed over by it.
Where do we get the $75,000? We have to tax it, borrow it or print it.
“Lets say we do this at an annual percentage rate of 3 percent and pay it off entirely in those thirteen years we would otherwise have to send SSI checks out to these folks.”
Okay, you want to borrow it. I don’t agree with that. We’ve borrowed enough, IMHO.
Frankly SS is not the cause of our deficit today. The cause is excessive spending, ineffective tax cuts (pay roll tax cut is one) and poor revenue from a poor economy.
My plan is pretty straight forward. In any year that SS runs a deficit, the retirement age is increased by three months. Put it on a cash flow basis.
This is a 15 percent raise over time compared to what you are currently taking home. Investing just this alone would probably match or exceed what you think you might get from Social Security.