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April 22, 2005
Quick Thoughts on Social Security
Listening to NPR this morning, I heard a long discussion on Social Security, its health and possible reforms. I had a few thoughts on the matter.
- Social Security is said to be able to pay out from the current "trust fund" until 2042. This means that it appears to be solvent through my retirement age, but not very much longer.
- There is no trust fund. There are only vague guarantees that the money will be paid back out of the general fund one day. This means the above point is meaningless, as Social Security is all but insolvent today.
- Social Security is not a retirement plan, but an insurance plan. When it was created, the insurance was designed to pay out if you lived above the average lifespan of the day. Instead of paying when you died, it paid if you lived. Now, the lifespan has outgrown the insurance plan, meaning more people are getting paid off by the insurance. If a real insurance company ran this way, they'd be bankrupt, just like Social Security
- The plan put forth by George Bush is not a plan to save Social Security as a system. It is a plan to save me, and those my age and younger, from relying on a bankrupt, corrupt system that pays out far too little in benefits for what has become a welfare system.
- If we look at what is best for citizens, instead of what is best for politicians and government workers, the Social Security system should be scrapped for those under 40 years of age, and replaced with nothing.
They're just my thoughts on the matter.
Posted by Lockjaw at April 22, 2005 1:08 PM
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