It is not your money

With all the talk of Social Security reform I have been glad to hear that people are willing to get rid of the system. I think there are many that recognize that it is a scam and black hole for funds. Ditching the system most commonly comes with a condition, "Pay me back my money"

If you could get your money back would you be willing to get rid of Social Security? I found that the answer depends on your age. (Or perhaps more accurately it depends on current wealth and future earning potential. )

Younger people want out. They can see what a waste it is and know the system will provide them nothing. It won't be around in 40 years when they can take advantage of it. I don't think this insight comes from great wisdom but rather from pessemism of any future that far out.

Older people want to be taken care of. They need the system and are relying on it. Any talk of changing it understandably creates fear. They have been told for decades that when they got older there would be benefits. Increasingly people have relied on the system as a means of retirement.

So somewhere in the middle is the interesting people in this debate. Where do you fit? These are the people that have time to rescue their retirement if the system went away, as long as they get their money back. They have been paying into the system for years and complaining about it. They weren't happy about it but justified it as a good thing that helped the elderly live a better and would be there as a safety net. There are other scenarios. But to all these people I must respectfully say, "It is not your money." You are not getting any money back. You do not get paid retirement money for what you paid in. There is no account or trust fund. You are paying money for those people currently on the system. If you collect money now or in 20 years you will be taking money from working people, not from some savings account.

When you pay Social Security taxes it is no longer your money. The government spends it. Don't forget they are required by law to spend every dollar in their yearly budget or surrender it. There are some accounting games they play but that is just more deception. Social Security money is not yours. You can't get anything of yours back. You can only take others people's money from them.

If you don't believe in taking money from other people then you should help get rid of the system. That is more noble then creating a false safety net. If you demand your own money back as a condition then you are lost. We must humbly admit that we all got suckered and walk away in shame. No one is going to get anything back that they put in. We can only end the plunder sooner rather than later.