>>Social Security rewards the longer lived at the expense of the shorter lived. There is not doubt that the worker who pays into the system for his entire working life and then kicks the bucket at 63 is hosed under the current system, with nothing to show for his hard-earned money invested over all those years. <<
You make a good point - the system is unfair to those who die young, yet do you see Wall Street as a solution to this problem? Would it be best to just get rid of the payroll tax and let people do as they wish with it?
The optimal solution is to eliminate the payroll tax and let people handle their own affairs. This, however, will never happen.
If the payroll tax must be taken, it would be best to have it in individual accounts that could be managed by the individual citizen, to invest or borrow against as he sees fit. This, however, will never happen.
If the accounts must be restricted, it would be best let the individual choose from a wide array of investment choices, with certain minimal requirments to prevent investment in undercapitalized penny stocks and the like. This, however, will never happen.
If individual control is not permitted, it would be best to have the investment choices limited to bond markets and govenment issues. This would still yield a better return that Social Security.
Having the govenrment control massive investments in the stock market is a recipe for disaster, and invitation for the camel to stick not only his nose, but his entire head and neck, under the edge of the tent, and a threat to the engine of wealth for the entire country.
Would it be best to just get rid of the payroll tax and let people do as they wish with it? OF couse not. People would merely p!ss it away, for the most part.