No, my post #75:
Here's my idea, the gov can keep all my employers contributions past and future, I invest my portion (7.65%) and the government doesn't owe me any benefits when I retire.
The gov returns all my contributions. That is the cost. They keep my employers future contributions to help fund current retiree benefits. Any shortfall would be another transition cost. The cost would be front loaded and would eventually disappear as retirees collecting benefits die. When all those receiving benefits are gone, all new retirees have their own self funded plan and the employers contributions would also fund the personal plan.
I agree, Congress would never do it. I'd be worried if they did because that would mean I had sunk to their ignorant level. The problem is explaining the benefits to the people who, after all, have an average IQ of 100. Lower average for democrats, of course.
You say this is not your position, but then go on to describe EXACTLY this position with an explanation of your transition process plus an EXTRANEOUS description of how everybody can be self sufficient by appropriately investing the money no longer contributed to SS. The last part is extraneous because SS is NOT an individual retirement plan. Why isn't that clear to you?
Anyway (and I really hesitate to address this), does your suggestion involve some monitoring, regulating, and administering of these IRAs? Does it include a plan for those whose investments go sour? If your answer is "no" to all of these questions, my characterization of your position, above, is accurate. If your answer is "yes" to all these issues, then you are introducing a gigantic, complex, far more intrusive, new "Big Government" program to replace SS and THAT DOES NOT SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE.