The respect is mutual Immie, but I believe you are wrong on this issue when it comes to "bailing it out."
Social Security is THE most successful program in American history.
There is NO crisis with SS, it remains healthy and successful. How is it a "goose" .. the most successful program in American history?
There is no crisis of funding and I hope that you would look beyond the contrived hysteria and do the research for yourself before you claim the propaganda.
You have no idea if gambling would make for a better program for retirees. That is pure speculation .. speculation that American seniors can ill afford.
Although I did not support the bailout the financial industry, I do wholeheartedly support assistance to the auto industry until we institute nationalized healthcare which would allow them to better compete with their global competitors.
And as I'm sure you already know my brother, I have no fear of government.
I have not argued that there was a crisis. My statements are solely based upon what would be better for the working class citizens of the United States of America. My belief is that what the government is doing is hurting the elderly rather than helping them.
The idea of requiring retirement savings is fabulous, however, the truth is that the government is in fact taxing us a sizable amount every year and then offering us welfare payments when we get to retirement age. That is all this is. Tax now offer pennies on the dollar later.
There is no "crisis" because the government keeps writing IOU's to fund it. Eventually, our credit will run out and then we will be in trouble.
As to whether or not it is a successful program is a matter of interpretation. I disagree with your interpretation. You state that it is an insurance program not an investment program. If that were the case than I should have the right not to purchase the insurance. I have no such right. I am forced to purchase "Insurance" that in the long run will cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars as I will never ever collect what I have put into the plan by the time I retire and should I die before retirement, I (well my heirs) lose everything but $235. That seems like a bogus insurance plan to me.
My opinion is that Social Security is an investment program in which I am forced to invest a significant portion of my salary with the government which offers a piss poor return. A bank offering such returns would be shut down immediately. My interpretation of the quality of any plan such as this is, whether or not an investment plan, is if it provides a reasonable rate of return. Now, fault me for such an interpretation if you want, but that comes from my finance background. Social Security simply does not match up with putting those funds into a savings account.
Regardless of whether or not this is an investment plan or a retirement insurance plan, the person who is being charged for the plan should be able to expect a reasonable rate of return. Would you spend thousands of dollars every year on an insurance plan that you expected never to pay off or to pay such a pittance of what you paid for it in the long run that it hurt you more than helped you? Just think if a private insurance agent came to your door and attempted to sell you a plan with the same details offered to you in the Social Security Plan, would you buy it?
The funds that have been taxed from my payroll over the last 25 years and will be taxed over the next 25 or so plus earnings would guarantee me a sizable retirement, as it is, I will never be able to retire thanks to the government.
As for your statement about "gambling" with my retirement, I can guarantee you that dollar cost averaging my retirement into a mutual fund over the fifty years of my working career would have provided a significantly greater return than the negative return the government offers. There simply is no doubt about it and that is taking into account the economic crisis we are currently in. Just think about what kind of a balance you would have today if you had simply started socking away in a bank, 6.2% of your paycheck every payday... and that is not even discussing putting your retirement into the stock market which I would not encourage anyone to do who does not follow the market to some degree. I would recommend a combination of any one of the many types of mutual funds on the market and Money Market/savings accounts, which would provide stability and potential growth.
My argument is not about shutting down Social Security. My argument is about revamping it in a manner that will clearly improve the lives of retirees in the future. Something politicians really don't care about.
Now, in reference to my comment about the government not letting this goose die... well, SS is a cash cow for them. They are not going to let it go away... ever! Even though simply saving the taxed funds in a savings account (again, not something I would fully recommend) would have provided a better return for any citizen who has worked all his/her life, the government is taking your funds investing them/using them for government pork and paying out only a small portion of what you put in. In effect, the government is living off your retirement, with your blessings.
Now, of course, we have those who live off Welfare all there lives, that is a different story, but for anyone who has worked most of their adult lives... those who would be eligible for SS anyway, simply putting that money into a savings account would provide a better retirement plan that S.S. does.
Think about it... would you buy a retirement insurance policy from your agent if he offered you the same exact plan... same exact cost (I'm not even counting the employer portion) as the Social Security plan? If so, send me your address, have I got an insurance program for you.
Immie
