Social security didn’t start out as a welfare program but it has been moving in that direction over the years. The system cannot sustain the millions of people claiming disability who paid little or nothing into the system but will collect a lifetime of benefits. It is also not sustainable when the average person collects 4X as much as they pay into the plan. These problems will only grow bigger as our workforce continues to shrink from obama-nomics and the pool of retirees grows from baby boomers retiring. I don’t want anybody to get less then what they are entitled to but something has to change.
If I'd been allowed to invest what they took from me in FICA, I'd *have* 4X as much as I paid in. It's the miracle of compounded interest.
Good FReepers have written to me (with I assume straight faces) that SS needs to be means tested, because it's "not fair Bill Gates can collect SS." Bullcarp. If he paid in as I did, he deserves payout. Even alleged conservatives have fallen for the "Well, SS turned into welfare, so we need to screw good people over because they're just filthy, grubbing welfare recipients" leftist propaganda.
Bottom line: If by some miracle your 401K survives to your retirement, your Social Security will be reduced as punishment for scrimping and saving your whole life.
Nonsense. It was a Ponzi scheme from day one.
No, it started as an Unconstitutional Ponzi scheme...it should be scrapped. People got shafted and should chalk it up to as exactly that. There is no basis, as it was and is a TAX, to steal from anyone else for the $$ that allowed to be taken by gov’t by those before them. If there is anyone, aside from gov’t to blame, it’s the ‘greatest generation’ for being a sucker to allow it and believe that gov’t ‘knows best’