Posted on 03/22/2006 12:34:54 PM PST by qam1
Everyone seems to have a plan now to “save” Social Security. While these plans typically include varying degrees of increased taxes, higher retirement ages, reduced benefits and escalating deficits, they each share a common theme. That is, they all preserve a massive government mandated retirement program that has us deep in the red. In fact, at this critical juncture in history, as we watch the last years of Social Security surpluses tick away and await the morass of deficits to come, phasing out Social Security could hold the key to solving our looming financial crisis.
Like many famous pyramid schemes, Social Security began by immediately paying benefits to retired workers who had contributed little into the system. In this fashion, the system bet that future workers would always be able to fund the retirement benefits of their elder peers. However, the ratio of workers to retirees has drastically declined. Whereas the ratio of workers supporting each beneficiary was 16 to 1 in 1950, it is now down to approximately 3 to 1. This has led to an incredible imbalance that threatens our way of life.
If we are going to fix the inherent problems of Social Security, why not consider real reform? My recent Social Security statement noted, “This Statement can help you better plan for your financial future.” It went on to explain all of the benefits that I could expect. However, when I went to the White House’s Web page on Social Security, it noted that, “The government has made promises it cannot afford to pay for with the current pay-as-you-go system.”
Our government does us a disservice when it tells us what to expect in our retirement years, while knowing that the system lacks solvency. As harsh as it may sound, the truth is that the only person we can rely on to provide for us is ourselves. As we saw in the Katrina debacle, big government is not always going to be there to pick us up, dust us off and start us over again. Thus, rather than setting us up with expectations that they will undoubtedly fall short of providing, our government should be candid with us.
Those currently retired and the baby boomers who will begin to retire in mass are expecting us to keep the promise that we have made them. They got in this pyramid scheme when the going was good and want to ride it out. Can you blame them? We can’t simply tell grandma that she’s on her own. No, a promise made should be a promise kept.
We’ve also made promises to the working mothers and fathers in Generation X who expect us to take care of them in their retirement years, and we should keep these promises as well. However, to those who are just coming into the work force, no promises have yet been made. In fact, surveys show that many of these workers already believe that Social Security will not be around when they retire.
By ending the entitlements of Social Security for younger workers entering the work force while maintaining their payroll taxes into the system, we can afford to pay for the promises that have been made. Furthermore, we can phase out an inherently flawed entitlement program and decrease our future reliance on the federal government. If we package this plan with a real initiative to pay down the national debt, while exempting younger workers from this added tax, we can truly work together to strengthen our nation and assure a bright and prosperous future for all.
iows......phase out benefits for those who don't need them....or those that have ample pension money from their companies or civil service job......
the other fix would be to eliminate the cap on how much money you can earn before SS taxes stop.....I'd like to see the zillionaires pay that 8% on all their income....bet the limosine rich would become conservatives really, really fast...
It's more like 15%
As taxes go higher and higher, people will start figuring out more and more ways to avoid paying taxes.
I'm afraid our government is becoming an out-of-control monster. More and more taxes, and more and more regulation of private businesses and properties.
God Bless America!
Your solution is simply a transfer of wealth from citizens you deem too rich to those whom you don't. Take from those who saved and earned and give to those who didn't.
Societies that punish success and reward the lack of it will tend to get more of the latter.
But would you if you were 55 and had been paying for the last 35 years?
Yeah ... what other outcome is there? I mean, a majority of people who are paying now will always say "don't touch my money" and ANYONE who comes up with an idea to "fix" S.S. will be demonized till the whole stinking system collapses, and I'm not just talking about S.S.
Think of the interest rates that we will be paying in order to finance the entitlement system in 30, 40 years. Think of the cost of fuel, food, etc... at that time. The gov't will be printing money faster than the paper from the mill can dry.
You can think of all the seam's to get more taxes ... indexing, removing the cap for SS taxes, etc... But this will only cause people to hide more money or work under the table or accept other forms of compensation (stock options, etc...). These so-called "fixes" will only Hagen the collapse.
Yeah ... what other outcome is there? I mean, a majority of people who are paying now will always say "don't touch my money" and ANYONE who comes up with an idea to "fix" S.S. will be demonized till the whole stinking system collapses, and I'm not just talking about S.S.
Think of the interest rates that we will be paying in order to finance the entitlement system in 30, 40 years. Think of the cost of fuel, food, etc... at that time. The gov't will be printing money faster than the paper from the mill can dry.
You can think of all the seam's to get more taxes ... indexing, removing the cap for SS taxes, etc... But this will only cause people to hide more money or work under the table or accept other forms of compensation (stock options, etc...). These so-called "fixes" will only hasten the collapse.
Kudos to the Freeper who astutely observed that the ratio of workers supporting each beneficiary is still 16 to 1 . . . it's just that 13 of them are in places like China, Malaysia, South America, etc.
Is Social Security an entitlements if one all their life was forced to pay into it?
That money could have gone into a nice IRA or some other program to give far more benefits than the recipient gets today!
Too bad W's reform as proposed didn't solve any of social security's problems at all, according to most independent analyses. It was on the right track, but essentially just transferred future debt to current debt. Great. /sarc
I mean, how can it be done in a way that screws as few people as possible and does it as gently as possible.
Inches and degrees.
"Check back in 50 years to see if I'm right."
With any luck at all, I won't be able to do so! :)
You still have the option for an IRA, and if you're smart you're building one.
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