Quote:My dad is on Medicare, he gets really good healthcare.


I agree that social security should be a supplement to a primary plan... But it should also be recognized that the plan actually works and shouldn't be cut or privatized.

 

This is just not mathematically accurate.  

 

From an actuarial standpoint, social security is designed to be OLD AGE INSURANCE.  That's why it was termed the old age, survivor and disabilities plan.  What Is old age insurance?   Its a policy you take out to insure the risk of outliving any reasonable expectation of life expectancy and planned savings.  In the mid 40's who the hell lived to be 65?  The system was designed on a 16 to one contribution to beneficiary ratio.  That number has shrunk to 3 to 1.  The program is scheduled for basic insolvency within the next couple of decades.  It has reached the point of actuarial unsustainability.  

 

The private sector actually came up with a solution for the average person to be able to build towards retirement.  Its called an open ended investment company (mutual fund).  Before the advent of pioneer fund A (the first mutual fund) there was no real way for the man on the street to have access in any meaningful way to a diversified portfolio and the ability to grow money safely over time.  Ironically pioneer opened around the same time as SS.  History shows that the private sector provided an inordinately better rate of return than SS.  Ironically, under the current rules and regulations if you tried to open a mutual fund with the current debt ratio of the federal government you would be thrown in jail!  

---