PONZI SCHEME OR WORKER’S INSURANCE?

When Social Security was first created it was thought of as “Worker’s Insurance.” It was set up as a fund all workers paid into, and that insured that if the family’s bread winner was no longer able to provide for the family — either through incapacitation, death or old-age — that there would be income for that family which would replace the money that could no longer be provided by the breadwinner. Worker’s Insurance.

Social Security was voted into law by the U.S. Congress, and signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935.

A Ponzi Scheme, on the other hand, is a “con” that is named for a criminal, Charles Ponzi, who defrauded many people with his illegal pyramid scheme and went to prison for his efforts.

So, in one case we have a lawful program created by the Executive and Legislative branches of our democratic government to help keep citizens free from desperate poverty (and has been enormously successful on that score!) versus a criminal enterprise designed to defraud people.

The GOP hated Social Security from the very beginning and has been determined in its efforts to get rid of it over the decades. Because it turned out to be the most popular government program ever, the GOP lately has tried a different tactic to get rid of the program that they hate so much: They shifted their strategy in recent years to working tirelessly to convince America that “Social Security is going broke and that it certainly will not be there for the younger generations.”

Both assertions are wildly inaccurate, or in other words: LIES. Social Security is fully funded until 2037, and if no adjustments are made in the program it will actually pay 75 – 80% of benefits thereafter. Clearly NOT going broke, and clearly WILL pay benefits to the younger generations.

When Social Security was developed, 50 percent of seniors lived in poverty. Today, poverty among seniors is ten percent. Social Security has done exactly what it was designed to do!

Why would the GOP try alarming fear-mongering about this very popular program? Well, the effort to convince America that the program is in deep trouble is only the first step in the GOP plan to convince the people to privatize Social Security. The eventual goal is to give the payroll deductions to Wall Street to let the “private sector” invest our Worker’s Insurance in the stock market … how do you think THAT will work out for the American people?

There are quite a few Social Security “fixes” that would work beautifully to simply shore up this insurance program by making minor adjustments to the program. Retirement age could slowly be pushed a tad higher over the next 30 years; the payroll tax “cap” could be raised to include taxing some or all of income over $100,000 at the same rate as the first $100,000.

SOCIAL SECURITY: PONZI SCHEME OR WORKER’S INSURANCE? YOU DECIDE.