Social Security 101

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• Social Security
• Taxes
• Obama
• Economics
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• retirement

[rusty159753]

I'm not sure if you have looked at President Obama's budget, but it is absurd. The numbers are based on a "best case" scenario and even that is a stretch.  Governments are like vines, if left unrestrained, they grown wildly in all directions. They need a good pruning every now and again.

[rusty159753]

Now, as far as the generosity is concerned with helping other nations, I am okay with that. However, I also agree that Americans should take care of Americans first, but not through programs like this. Financial prosperity comes through financial freedoms and liberties. Unfortunately, my government has meddled with our economic system too much and has used it's tax revenue to grow itself to unsustainable heights.

[rusty159753]

SS is not advertised as an investment "scheme," although it should be. It closely resembles a Ponzi Scheme, aka Pyramid Scheme. America knows that there is a major problem with SS, but most are either too afraid to think rationally, or too apathetic to want to do anything about it.

There is a growing number of young people, like myself, who are unwilling to sit by idly and let this happen. Broken systems need to be fixed, or it will blow up in our face.

[rusty159753]

I am happy to respond to your questions dsarosh. It is my pleasure. I'm not sure how it is advertised in your country, but SS is not a charitable program. It was originally intended to be a safety net, a supplemental to the pensions your company would supply you in retirement. However, it has created an entitlement mentality that just doesn't make sense. The numbers do not add up.

The idea of SS assumes there are more workers than retirees. This was true then, but will not be true soon.

[dsarosh]

Thanks for the replies, it's appreciated.

I agree with almost everything you have said in the past few posts.

Generosity should be voluntarily, not compulsory.

That impression that I get is that the people who oppose SS are still a very small minority from the younger generation, while the bulk of the older generation benefit and gain from it.

On the surface this gives an impression of the younger generation being selfish and not caring for the needy, but I know it's more than that.

[dsarosh]

BTW, I also have to add that your country is spending trillions upon trillions of your money in about 50 countries around the world from Pakistan to Korea, and I'm guessing some of that money comes from your taxes.

I think it is better Americans spend their own money on their own land and take care of their own countrymen and keep america rich and prosperous.

The latest figures are that USA has 700 military bases in 130 different countries across the globe. And i think your taxes pay for thes

[dsarosh]

Just to clear my misconceptions, how is SS advertised in USA?

Is it advertised as a "investment scheme" in which you pay money for 40 years and you get back all that money + more after retirement?

Or is it advertised as a program where everyone pays 12% and that money is used to help the people who need it most?

I never thought about SS as a service where people put money in and expected to get any of it back.

I always thought about it as something you pay into and hope your money is used to

[dsarosh]

Hi Rusty,

Thanks for the replies,it helps a lot.

When looking at things like Social Securityy from a non-American perspective one gets the feeling that it's something nice and generous to do. I have heard about this in the past and, to be honest, I never got the feeling that even 5% of the people would get back all the money they put into SS.

I thought it was designed such that 100 people pay into it so that the money can be used to taken care of those 5% or 15% people who really, truly needit.

[rusty159753]

To give you a little insight into our culture, SS has created a "someone else will take care of me" mentality, shifting our personal responsibility and consequences to the government through central planning. America feels entitled, so when you see that America's savings rate is -2%, you know why. My fellow Americans as a whole spend WAY TOO MUCH instead of saving too much.

[rusty159753]

Here's the main point of the video though, it is not to address my friend's specific situation. Rather, it is to point out that our MANDATORY Social Security system is not only a failure of epic proportions, but there are superior ways to handle retirement funding.