Social Security... It may be social, but is it secure?

I was wondering if the topic of Social Security has been discussed here? It seems to me to be the largest scandal that effects every single person receiving a paycheck....giving their money to the government knowing full well they will never see it again...? I am sorry to bring it up if this has already been discussed, I just haven't found a thread about it yet. If it hasn't been brought up recently, I was wondering what everyone's take is on this issue and seemingly wide-spread scandal?

Sorry, I didn't mention any kind of source. My mistake. Here it is:

The annual cost of Social Security benefits represents 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) today and is projected to rise to 7.0 percent of GDP in 2077. The projected 75-year actuarial deficit in the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds is 1.92 percent of taxable payroll, up from 1.87 percent in last year's report due primarily to the growing annual financial gap at the end of the valuation period. Thus, the program continues to fail our test of financial balance by a wide margin. Projected OASDI tax income will begin to fall short of outlays in 2018 and will be sufficient to finance only 73 percent of scheduled annual benefits by 2042, when the combined OASDI trust fund is projected to be exhausted.

This was in the 2003 report from the Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees...

Found here: www.ssa.gov...

Thoughts/feelings/speculations??

[Edited on 10/16/2003 by ViperFreak]

What choice do we have...??? Not to pay it? It will be there...but I'm certainly not counting on it to pay my rent when I'm old and gray...

401K baby.
Social security is socialisim. and bad socialisim at that.

I just find in ironic how people will throw a fit over something like the sales tax and other proportionately smaller cost items, but when something that takes a sizeable ammount out of your check...and you won't get any kind of benefit from it, no 'road-work' like you get out of your city & state taxes...this is the government taking more out of your paycheck just under a different name...not Federal Income Tax...I am just curious as to how people feel on this issue Gazrok...

It's entirely possible that Social Security will become a real topic of interest to the general public rather than just remain in the domain of politics. Lately, I have seen several articles by financial advisors suggesting that one plan on retirement without the aid of Social Security. Though I am often out of touch with much of the media and so may have missed earlier reports, this looks to be the beginning of coming to grips with reality on a very personal level. Hopefully we will see more in the same vein.

Thanks to the US briliantly sending small ammounts of aid to foreign countries -- oh just around $87 billion dollars -- there will soon be no social security. US is already in debt to social security and they're taking out even more with plans like this even though iraqui officials personally said that they can fund their reconstruction by themselves. I agree that it may be the right thing to do to help rebuild their government, but why are we paying SO MUCH money when they said themselves they dont need it.

my grandfather is a staunch defender of social security and once when we had a "debate" about it he pretty much said that the government should take care of our retirement/money, not ourselves. i was disturbed by this as i dont like having others decide forme what i can and cant do with my own money as it pertains to retirement. now some of the context for this was he believes that politicians know how to "prepare" for our own retirement than we do. i find this offensive as these same politicians give themselves raises and stow away their money earned through their jobs, both governmental and private and put it in 401K accounts, stocks and bonds while we the average joe isnt allowed to do with our money as we see fit.

also i find that social security is something of a pyramid scheme. the only way they can continue to give checks is if more and more people pay into it. how do they getmore people? which each generation the generations get larger. people are also not relying on social security and some dont want to even pay into it at all because thats money taken from them to pay for someone elses retirement, not their own. moeny that could be applied to their own retirement fund. its a socialist set up and the victims of this scam are getting tired of it and want to find better alternatives but find it hard to do because if the government lets people invest their own money their own way intotheir own retirement funds every last retired person right now would starve to death because the money would run out in a big damn hurry. you're paying for your grandparents and those of THEIR generation, not your own. the problem i have with this is what if the system does collapse? there's no plan B's because we are expected to rely on THIS system so a lot of people are going to be quite unhappy AND clueless as to what to do if and when it does collapse. i really believe that social security WILL end in my lifetime and will be catostrophic to this country but it will also make people rely less on the government and more on themselves.

dozer how much do you think america sends israel in aid every year? billions! america sends even more billions to other countries. while i understand the sentiment would you prefer america simply walk away from iraq knowing full well that if we dont help them out after what we've done we'll be villified even more in the middle east? spare me the "we shouldnt have been there anyway" remarks. thats a moot point. we're there and we have to deal with it. would you have us just walk away yes or no?

hell we can get parasites off the welfare system and stop giving out money for things we really dont need like endowments for art. (anyone remember the piss christ from years ago? thats right your tax money paid for that! a cross in a jar of urine and they called it art)

there are many ways to cut out waste but the BEST way to do it is to get rid of the politicians, tell these democrats and republicans we're tired of it and start voting in independants and people from other party's (anyone but nader!) maybe then we'll have a better chance of cuttingout all the waste but as long aspeople continue to believe the government should take care of them in every little way then we'll never be free of the curse of the government. like a drug when you rely on it to get you through life it is hard to get rid of, it is there everywhere you go following you like a shadow.

Is mostly socialist.

I call it, social welfarity.

Sad thing is people who need the money don tget it. If you file for it, you can be turned down, have to keep reapplying and goto court to get it approved.

The government takes your money and if you die before age 62, you don tget a #ing dime.

People who have illigiitmate children get rewarded with all kinds of other social programs. So basically its a dog cookie for #ing on the floor.

The most social thing about social security is how the system interacts with other federal programs like the IRS to track your money and that dread social welfarity number.

If you live to be 80 and collect 20 years of social welfarity its a pretty good program. If you pay taxs into it all your life and never get a dime. Than its a burden.

it should be called "no no security"....the govt steals 6.4% of my check and 6.4% of my employeers $$ and gives it to others and there is no promise that it will get what i've had stolen from me. AND..if no no security is so good.....why don't our own lawmakers pay into it basically the govt use it as security to obtain loans...what a joke..i'd rather have all $$ i've had stolen and take my chances.....

There is no possible way to end social sercurity completely and privitizing it for investment is the dumbest idea ever concieved of by republicans. The market is too risky. We have to take care of our elderly. They are a drain on the economy any way you look at it. Most are too sick or disabled to work and rely on drugs to sustain their life. The money they take out of the system is put right back in that is also an important part of growth. It is a cold sick deluded individual that thinks social sercurity does nothing for this country.

I won't need it when I retire (hopefully) but that doesn't mean it's not important to the overall health of our economy. What do you think all these seniors are going to do if they lose their funding to some corporate corruption? They can't live off of their families it would be an even worse situation, specially for the middle class.

now there is one issue i don't like and that's folk on disability for being fat or drunk...damn it, get off ya azz and get a job.

We have the same problem here in Canada and I bet most of the first world countries have problems with bankrupt social security systems. They stole money out and used it for other crap. Furthermore the money was invested in low interest government bonds for many years and little if any put in the markets' where real earnings could be made.

I figure that they will be bankrupt in ten years or less due to more old people and less young people to keep paying in.

This is one reason for the hugh boost in immigration in order to have lots of people to keep paying taxes because socialized women's rights slashed the size of families of long term citizens.

Meanwhile for decades goverments have been pushing tax based plans that financial companies use the money to line their own pockets with gold while paying crappy returns out.

Yeah we are facing interesting times ahead.

THE FACT IS THE GOVERNMENT, AKA CONGRESS STEALS MONEY FROM SOCIAL WELFARITY TO PAY FOR NUCLEAR MISSILES AND DEFENSE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. THE LITTLE NUMBER THAT SOCIAL WELFARITY GIVES YOU MAKES A NIFTY TRACKING SYSTEM FOR THE IRS AND THE DOD.

the fact is..that people taking s.s will soon, very soon be much higher than those paying into it. uh...what happens then...the last time i looked, if 10 people want 7 items...somebody is up the creek with out a boat...'cause u know what will happen.....we that work will pay even more for those on s.s. something needs to be done...but it is human nature to wait untill it is to late b4 the human finaly does something.........just take a look inside.....