Social Security

[akarunway 1]

So. They have taken it out my checks for 34 yrs. How many think the program should be gutted?

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

So. They have taken it out my checks for 34 yrs. How many think the program should be gutted?

Long term? Short of obvious idiocy like buying lottery tickets or putting your money in a low-yield savings account (Wells Fargo is paying .2% (note the decimal) woo-hoo!) Social Security is the worst retirement plan out there. The universal retirement part needs to be gutted with investments directed towards the stock+bond market as a whole (loose half your retirement savings and you still beat Social Security) with a T-bill component to ameliorate risk. The life insurance, disability insurance, and safety net can stay as hallmarks of a civilized society.

Getting there? The government should honor its obligations just like private pensions do. With a private pension you're guaranteed certain payments even when the company folds. With Social security you should get your minimal (replacing 25% of your pre-retirement income) payments even if the government is going out of business.

People who've paid into the system should get a pro-rated return for their years of servitude. New contributions for the retirement plan should go into something with a yield that can't be raided to make the budget look better. Payments for the insurance policies should be normal budget line items paid for out of "tax increases" instead of promises or slight-of-hand where it's off your pay stub but on your employer's accounting books where the average person doesn't know to look or care to complain about.

[kelpdiver 2]

it's funny they want it gutted now, when it has been subsidizing our deficit spending. While it's running a surplus is the time to start the shift to private accounts.