Hardly! And the huge amounts that were paid by the employers were nothing but taxation.
You deny that these taxes were called the Federal INSURANCE ACT taxes, and then, the Old Age and Disability INSURANCE tax, and that politicians gave the impression that people would eventualay recieve benefits as a result of a formula based on one’s individual contributions.
That’s funny. Every year, I recieve a statement frommthe Social Security Administration stating that under the law, because of the formula written into law, based on my personal contributions (I have been self-employed for 30 years, so they are nearly all my contributions, but even “employer” contributions are functionally the employee’s, as the employer makes those contributions in lieu of additional pay he’d give the employee), I will be ENTITLED by law to a specific set of benefits.