 Social security is unsustainable. Created in 1935, social security is paid for by a 12.4% payroll tax on income up to $160,200. Supporters pretend that social security is like a retirement plan where your specific contributions build value over time. But the system is a Ponzi scheme in which current beneficiaries are paid out of new money coming into the system. The problem is that when the program started paying out benefits in 1940, there were 160 workers per retiree, so a surplus built up. Today, there are just 2.8 workers per retiree. In a decade, there won't be enough money coming into the system to cover the current level of benefits. And by law, benefits will need to be cut by about 20%, or payroll taxes will need to be jacked up even more than they already are.