‘young people who rock, do save social security, make it one of your top priorites, and the wars end, and a better economy.

Looks like this old world needs you more and more since these old farts are not doing it…..

Young people should be taught the definition of “Pyramid Scheme” and how Social Security is nothing more than a government run version of it. They should be taught how the first ones in get all the money and the last ones in (themselves) get the bill. They should be taught that a private citizen would go to jail for running such an operation. They should be taught that government can’t take care of everyone, so they should plan for their own future.

There is a pattern with the American politics of the past, and the youth of America can see right through it. We are ready for Change, regardless of whether or not Barack Obama becomes our next President. We want a politics that is all inclusive, and does not implement ostracizing people of different color, gender, or age, into practice. When it comes to governing ALL of the people of this great country, we will inheret the abilities of decision-making that will affect us all! Carpe diem, vote Obama now.

I agree with with them but I really do not care because the federal government does not. I do not expect Social Security to be around when I retire. None of my friends do either. The government has no clue. I put as much as possible away and know that when I am 75 I will be on my own.

The world depends on the Youth of America to make REAL change. Social Security is certainly something worth the fight. Privitization is a wonderful “Option” but should be just that. Some folks however should have the option to still let it sit where it does now. But Young America….we must end this war, fight Disease and Poverty in this country and abroad, and strengthen our economy.

Well, the boomers have a choice. They can acknowledge and try to fix this problem. Or they can let people with zero hope of getting social security, who will be paying into the system for the next hundred years, be the ones to decide what retirement home the boomers go into.

Social Security is a government sanctioned pyramid scheme that should be allowed to fail. Personal financial responsibility, folks. I do not enjoy the government taking my money and wasting it, where I could be and am making a very high return on it. You want a mission? How about working towards limited government and restoration of the Constitution. It’s all about freedom, not control.

“That way, they hope, when the time comes for them to depend on it, it will be there.”

Wow, another generation looking to the government for handouts.
Give me my money back!!!! Oh, and no I did not pay for my parents Socialist Security; they enjoyed two whole years of it after paying into it for forty years. Give me my money back and we’ll call it even.\
End Socialist Security, and reward savers.

Kudos to these forward thinking young individuals. They are doing the right thing.

I hope these kids come to the realization very quickly that this problem can be solved in a hurry. Just raise or eliminate the cap! Right now, by law, people stop paying social security taxes once they make over $92,000. By eliminating the cap you solve the problem immediately.

When are you people going to wake up? Why do you continue to think the government will/should take care of you? No thanks. Give me the money I pay in SS taxes and I’ll make an average of 10% on it for the next 30 years.

Wake up, policitians are not the answer to your problems. Your the answer. Can’t wait for you kids in college to get a job and realize it for yourselves.

Obamas record shows he supports the war, voted twice in 2006 against bringing America’s troops back home. He voted for war appropriations giving our money to Halliburton and Blackwater where recently A Houston, Texas woman, who says she was gang-raped by her co-workers at a Halliburton/KBR camp in Baghdad, His latest bit of posturing S 433 allows the Bush Administration to suspend any troop withdrawal!!!!if not suspended, still keeps the troops in Iraq for a long time to come? Obama when faced with tough choices always gave in to pressure from the Bush administration or corporate lobbyists. Such as Obama voted for Bush’s energy bill, sending more than $13 billion in subsidies and tax breaks to oil, coal, and nuclear companies. Obama voted with Republicans to allow credit card companies to raise interest rates over 30 percent, INCREASING STUDENT LOANS RATES AND FEES increasing hardship for families.

If you are looking to use personal retirement accounts, it doesn’t make sense posing for a picture with “OBAMA” in the background.

Obama supports the status quo that is the ponzi scheme of Social Security.

It’s great that SOMEONE is thinking about SS. Our fine government has been using all that tax money to pay for other things rather than actually putting it into a “fund”. I’m so sick of everyone throwing up their hands and saying “oh well, it won’t be there when I retire”. Young people don’t think it will affect them and they are planning on putting money into something else to “bridge the gap”. But what they don’t realize is that they will STILL have to pay into SS, I am glad they are taking notice! No private inestment firm could get away with squandering peoples money this way.

I fell sorry for young people who have to contribute so much of
their paychecks to Social Security, because I don’t think they will
ever have a chance to collect what they’ve paid in. Also, the
amount of money they would receive is not going to be enough
in the future to help pay for their retirement. Many people now
rely on Social Security for a large part of their retirement, but
I would rather my children not have to contribute to Social
Security at all because the money they put in will be paid out
to people who may not have even worked that many years, but
they’ve attained the age of 65 or 66. The high cost of living means
that the small amounts, relatively speaking, of Social Security
payments won’t be of much help to future generations in planning
their retirement.

I agree. This seems to be a dead issue with politicians today. We need answers as to what they’re going to do to fix this problem. We’ll be paying into the system for 30 years and not receive 1 penny if we don’t take a stand now. You’re doing a great job S4. Keep up the good work.

I’m all for saving Social Security by abolishing it. If you want that, I have no idea why they are for Obama! Ron Paul is the only answer to this problem and just because he may not be President doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention to him. He’s been warning us for years about the economy and our destructive foreign policy–time to wake up and listen and make the rest of Congress listen too. There’s no quick fix, it takes a little bit of work to get yourself out of a hole you’ve dug for yourself.

How are we supposed to save social security when it is in the hole by trillions and inflation is only going to keep rising? Where is the money going to come from when our dollar is weakening more with every day, we are paying more for our goods and gasoline, and we face rising interest rates, fees and taxes with just about anything we do purchase?

No one should depend on the government to support them. If you think social security is going to be there when we retire in 30-40 years, you are just fooling yourself. Spend your time finding a good career, and start an IRA, instead of wasting your time with this fairytale.

The reason SS is going bankrupt:

Social Security’s Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program limits the amount of earnings subject to taxation for a given year. The same annual limit also applies when those earnings are used in a benefit computation. This limit increases each year with increases in the national average wage index. We call this annual limit the contribution and benefit base. For earnings in 2008, this base is $102,000.
The OASDI tax rate for wages paid in 2008 is set by statute at 6.2 percent for employees and employers, each. Thus, an individual with wages equal to or larger than $102,000 would contribute $6,324.00 to the OASDI program in 2008, and his or her employer would contribute the same amount. The OASDI tax rate for self-employment income in 2008 is 12.4 percent. (Tax rates of 1.45 percent for employees and employers, each, and 2.90 percent for self-employed persons, are applied to all earnings—without a taxable maximum—under Medicare’s Hospital Insurance program.)

As a young person, I think we really do need to look at this issue… but I’m not for saving Social Security whatsoever. Social Security is broken beyond saving, and I’d like to be able to opt-out of it. Why should I keep paying for it when it’s obvious I won’t get anything from it? And yet, the only presidential candidate that was willing to talk about this and offer realistic solutions was ignored….

If we cut spending (especially overseas) and then use that money to sustain programs for social security for the generations that are dependent on it, and simultaneously let younger people opt out of it, then we could gradually ease the country off of this broken system.

save social security…why?

How about just letting people keep that portion of their paycheck to do what they want with it? Last time I checked, the government is not in the business of financial planning and for good reason. With the national debt being so high, no one in their right mind could possibly rely on the government for providing them with a retirement.

How about letting people save for themselves?

My wife and I (mid 30’s) have no belief that Social Security will even exist in 25 or 30 years, when we become elegible. If by some miricle it is, I’m sure it will be need based so folks like us who are planning for the future will never see a dime of our SS payments. S4 efforts would be better spent getting young folks to do more personal savings/investing and forget about changing anything. Its a pyramid scheme and there is no growth to support its weight.

It’s great to see young people getting involved, but instead of working to save social security, they should be working to END it. 13.4 trillion shortfall? Are you kidding me? The program is nothing more than an elaborate shell game and another example of how bad government is at handling money. If the government wants to mandate a retirement program, how about mandating that people save for their OWN retirement in financial vehicles of their choosing. Now that is real security.

I’m a boomer that’s really glad to see younger people take responsibility for the well being of America. Social Security did not come easy — Republicans fought against it from the start over 70 years ago. Bush has been spending our pension funds on tax cuts for the rich and business as fast as its taken from workers paychecks. We badly need a new law that bars all future Presidents and Congress from using it for any purpose other than social security.

why save social security? to pay for illegal immigrants medical bills.. i dont know about you but i’m tired of paying bills for other people. as it is, if your younger than 30 yrs of age, dont expect it for retirement…

The issue I have as a young person is that right now I’m paying for retirement twice. First, I am required to pay Social Security taxes AND I’m told that it won’t be around when I need it. Therefore, I also pay into a 401K account so I will be able to retire. Although I do not advocate harming all of those people who paid into the fund for years and are now retiring, it’s not feasable for me to overpay either. I do not make enough for this.

I think what the media and every one is doing to OBAMA is wrong to have him denounce his pastor after he has denounce what was said byy him was way too much this man has done nothing wrong why crucify him what else do u want him to denounce JESUS CHRIST too you cant hold some one responceable for what others do he is not a racial person why not go after clinton what skeletals does she have in her closet or does every one feels sorry for her because she is a female its so wrong why dont you think she dont want any one to get her file she is hiding some thing i dont trust her she is like two diffeent person talking

Social Security is nothing but pure Socialism. Let’s end it by phasing it out of existance. Anyone who can do math knows they’d be much better off without it. Again, it’s about math and rates of return, not politics. Its returns are dismal and compulsion shouldn’t be an option in a free society. If you disagree, buy a financial calculator and learn about compound interest over a working lifetime.

It’s good that someone pointed out that this group shouldn’t be represented under a huge ‘Obama’ banner. What is that? When I saw that, I thought that it was a bunch of kids fighting to keep the current system (which would be perfectly logical supporting the Obama campaign.)

To Chuck the Boomer; please don’t say you feel sorry for our generation. No wonder the Republicans fought against this ridiculous system for the past 70 years because it was a terrible idea to begin with. The unsustainable entitlement spending is the real problem behind our whole political/economic system. There’s nothing we can do about it now. I guess we’ll just have to save our own pennies and start from scratch after the system collapses.

Good gosh! These kids are good hearted, but at best naive. The only way to save SS, as others above have said, is to eliminate it! I could take that money and invest it in other places that would provide more of a retirement than our wasteful government.

Social Security is nothing but theft and redistribution of earned money. If this money was taken out of the clutches of the government and left to work and reinvest itself into the marketplace, our economy would be strong.

But then, these kids want their handout..

Ron Paul sponsored a bill, HR 219, to save SS but Congress has tabled it. Congress is raiding SS funds for their pork projects and leaving paper IOU’s which are worthless. So far Congress has taken and spent $2.2 TRILLION from the SS Trust Fund and will take another $186 BILLION this year (per Citizens to Protect SS). I only received 2.?% increase in my SS this year, not even enough to cover the increase in gas prices, much less the increase in medical, food, etc. There would be enough for everyone for years to come with decent cost of living increases if Congress would stop stealing SS money to pay for pork projects such as a bridge to nowhere in Alaska, a rain forest in Ohio, an $800,000 outdoor toilet in a national park. Please, everyone, write to your Representatives and Senators and DEMAND that they stop this travesty and save SS for what it is intended!

Most people pay into their ss acount every month through their payroll tax deductions. The government then proceeds to spend that money on a variety of “stuff”. (I often wonder how much of it goes to fund the wars we are in). Lets get back to the idea of a ss lock box and hold our government accountable for our money. There is no shortage of money. There is a shortage of responsible spending. Young people this is your government and your money–hold their feet to the fire and make your government representatives listen to you. The future of our country is in your hands and I bet you will do a better job than I. I’m old but I’m not dead so I’m still trying. Young and old make great partners.!
I support your ss ideas 100% . You give me hope for the future.

You cannot just raise the 92k limit and “fix” the problem. The more you pay in the more you are supposed to get back. So it only delays the problem. End Social Security!!! A simple fix is to just phase it out over 50 or so years. If you are over 50 it stays the same. Over 40 you get 80%, over 35 60%, over 30 40%, and so on.

The problem is how our government spends our money. They spend it the way most Americans spend it with no afterthought. There’s no accountability as to where exactly our tax dollars are going. At 36, I know not to expect SS because it’s been drilled into my head since junior high. It’s disappointing because all that money I’m putting in now, I could be saving or investing it myself.

Hi Nicole

I just watched your program on the concerns of the college age people about Social Security. I am retired and SS accounts for 2/3 of my income. In other words, I am almost totally dependent upon it. This is not a very advantageous position to be in. Also, while it may be difficult to determine the relationship dollar for dollar of how much of what I put in is actually what I am getting out, my understanding of SS is that it is basically a continuous flowing in of young, new money to support older people. So If I am correct in this, your guest’s assumption that their input will eventually support them is mistaken to a considerable degree. I do not necessary wish to discourage the debate but I have the sense that washington politicians are very reluctant to discuss SS especially since the Baby Boomers are on the verge of flooding the system and any tinkering with it at this point is sure to raise many, many hackles. It may very well turn out to remain a mute issue until it becomes a dire emergency and then only receive some band aid fixing. This is actually a more realistic assessment than any attempt at a major overhaul. I can only suggest that people under 40 start considering other options than SS for their own self interest and peace of mind when they are 65 or 70.

Who’s going to pay for it? High school students seem to grow on trees, but money sure don’t. I will fight to not pay more in taxes. Personal responsiblilty and discipline should be this glee club’s goal.

I will be 65 next month, have a boy at American U. and a daughter at Capital U. I keep tellling ‘em…if the old farts and liberals continue to refuse to reform this SS and Medicare mess, you MUST REPEAL THEM. You cannot have a future supporting these jokes which will take 70-80% of your paychecks.

Young people, such as myself, should worry about Social Security. This is solely due to the fact that it is a dying breed of Governmental control that was never really meant to last but simply as a short term benefit to aid peoples in poverty, essentially the elderly. It is past time that we move on to more private plans where every citizen is not only encouraged but required to save for their future. We are heading into a recession and they only way to keep your head above water financially is to have personal stores of basic wealth. The government is not using the Social Security for our benefit and has been overtaxing this program for far too long. It is time to move on and become smarter as a people.

Social Security should be ended… but gradually. We should keep our promises to the people who have been forced to pay in and now depend on it. But I’m planning to support my own retirement. I have no expectation that Social Security will pay me anything when I retire in 30 years.

Just like the government is now planning to bail out stupid homeowners who borrowed sums they could never hope to repay, the government will bail out stupid people who spend all their money on shopping and drinking rather than save it up. Enjoy your life, spend away. The government will always bail you out. And the middle-class can be taxed to pay for it!

Rock they do..with their pants hanging below their knees and underwear showing. Pierced noses, eyebrows, navals, penis rings, 4-5 earrings in each ear, tongues, oh lets not forget the body tattoes. Is this the future. The people who cant even spell, speak english. Are they the one’s who are going to take care of this country. Well God help us!!!!! Most vote like its the american idol show. They dont know anything about politics. What the hell are people thinking.I myself dont want a rock star to be my president, not now, not ever I would bet anything if you asked any young person to recite God Bless America, most or none could, could you? One more thing, i ask, what is a man without his word and his loyalty? Nice going Richerson. I rest my case.

A simple fix is to just phase it out over 50 or so years.

The idea that people between ages 20 and 50 are going to pay for both the retirement of people over 50 and still have enough left over to pay for their own retirement is a non-starter.

To replace $25,000 per year in social security, people would have to save an additional $625,000. Adjusting that for inflation in 30 years, you would need about 3 times that or $1,875,000. You are talking about a retirement program that only works, quite literally, for multi-millionaires.

The current social security taxes will not even cover full benefits for recipients over 50. So you aren’t going to have any tax savings to invest. Social security is a pay as you go program that relies on people being born, joining the work force, retiring and dying in roughly equal numbers. But then so does the rest of the economy. For every share of stock sold, someone else has to buy it. Its a pyramid scheme!

If we want to save social security we need to vote for Mccain. He’s for the fair tax wich will put more money in the goverments hands (scary) but which will go in to built in places for social security. that’s just step one.he also wants to cut the spending on crazy projects like a 36 million dollar bridge to a island in alaska with only 11 residents. he also wont put more money in welfare and other programs like that who are dipping in to social sercurity, unlike clinton or obama who will throw money or country doesnt have, that has been borrowed from china, into programs that are killing or country. vote mccain 08!

If we just “remove” SS, how do the disabled survive? (With America’s great healthcare system?) and “Personal responsibility” sounds like a good way to put a lot of SS money, which helps some of the Americans who need social security, in the hands of rich stockbrokers.

Start fixing SS by taking the $92,000 cap off, stopping wealthier people from taking out of SS, then I’ll agree we work America towards a better system (with or without SS). SS isn’t a retirement package, but a way to support those in need in America. Or are we too highstrung and greedy to think that there are actually people who truly need help?

Yes the 92k cap is only a fix, but why should they be capped. I know you are suppose to get out what you put in, but lets get serious. I have never thought I would see a penny of what I have put into social security. Not even when I received my first paycheck. I have always seen it as just another tax- call it what it is. That being said everyone should pay it, and no one should be exempt because they make too much.

Getting rid of it isn’t an option so stop complaining and suggesting it. If you are worried about your retirement then work harder and longer since we all know we are not capable of saving more and spending less.

I don’t understand how “more personal retirement accounts” serves the stated purpose of “saving social security.” In fact, it’s the complete opposite of that. I max out my 401K and Roth IRA to the IRS maximum, and I still worry every day that it won’t be enough for me to retire when the time comes. If the federal government didn’t steal the additional money that I pay to them in the form of social security and medicare withholdings and will likely never see a return on in the form of social security or medicare when I retire, I could easily save over 1/2 million dollars in the next 20 yrs even if that money didn’t earn 1 penny of interest. I would be happy to do as such. This doesn’t even taken into account the other 1/2 that my employer contributes to social security and medicare. I say let social security is a freaking joke, let it fail, stop stealing my money for a program that won’t be able to pay what it’s promised when I’m old, and let me save on my own. I know that I can take care of myself.

I don’t know who came up with the 92K cutoff. I earn a 100K a year and still pay SS taxes.

I am 26 and don’t plan to have or even want to have social security. I like the suggestion to cut spending to pay for those still in social security but that us younger people should not have to contribute to it any longer. I don’t want other peoples money. If we can’t follow that suggestion we should stop it know with only the people who recieve it know still getting it and no knew people getting it. We will bankrupt the country. Any who say we need to tax more to solve this problem is foolish or naive. The government’s only goal is to keep the pursuit of happiness open not to guarentee it or something like it. Sorry just being feed while the government controls my family’s life. I don’t support the views and actions of many things the government does yet my money keeps going to them why. Yet people who may disagree with what I don’t like themselves have things they don’t like that the government does yet they want to make it bigger. No thanks I may only make 24,000 a year but if I had most if not all of that I would make better decisions that reflect my values leaving me a happier person then the government having it. Good bye Socialist Security we will be forced to get ride of you and deal with withdrawel but we will be better for it as long as we let you go like the bad idea you are. Its too bad it may still take 20 years before it is gone. I think its passing will bring families closer and make people work harder as the government gives up more controls over our lives it shouldn’t have. That is of course if we (my generation and those close to it) don’t make something worse. Take care all and learn to save and plan.

Eric I fail to see why it must be paid. This system is not needed I can give my money to those in need and take care of my parents better and with more care then the government. Nobody should be paying it.

We have to see that where is the problem. We know that if we can keep pork barrell projects, billions of dollars spent on projects which get never started and never rightly spent, accounting office and other watchdog agencies can not keep track of expenses, stop medicaid & medicare frauds. Problem can be fixed. This is an excellent approach by S4. We need a strong group which can get to checks and balances, who can write on internet and bring people under one umbrella. Everybody should know the details of wastes happening at the federal level and make Social Security like their own funds in the hands of Federal Government.

Good motive, wrong background.
It appears a nice chance for S4 to campaign for Obama.
Politicians like Obama are misguiding and encouraging American youths to remain parasites.
C’mon , this is the time when students and youths ought to think about succeeding in life so they don’t have to depend on SS alone. World is full of opportunities, make use of them folks, and at one point of time you will realize you are not so depenedent on SS, and retire anywhere under the planet without worrying about SS. Think big, not politics.

JG,

The assertion that there is a SS cut off is sort of correct, but it’s not 92K (at least for 2008 anyway). For 2007, the SS cut off was $97,500. For 2008, it’s $102,000. The amount of the cut off point generally goes up every year, and as you can see, it went up quite a bit btwn 2007 and 2008. Hence, you can see that if you make about $100K in 2008, you will pay SS on the full amount. Hope this info helps. (I’m honestly not quite sure what year the 92K figure came from.)

I know for a fact there are seniors in this country, that are taking Social Security payments who don’t need them. They live in a big house, bigger than mine actually; and it’s paid for. They have two nice cars, a new swimming pool, and in fact they have more income now than at any time in their life. They are my parents. They, like many baby boomers will, feel that they are entitled to their Social Security checks because they paid into the system all those years. But that is not what Social Security was designed for. It was designed to help out those people, disabled and elderly, that do not have an income; those that cannot afford to life’s necessities. It’s time to reevaluate the system and dole out taxpayer money to those in need, not to those who feel entitled. Being a Gen X kid, I know that Social Security won’t be there for me. I have to make my own retirement monies.

Kudos to the young people who want to save and not depend on SS.
However, what happens to their (life savings) 401K’s if their parents, who most likely depended or depend on SS for part of their retirement have to go into a nursing home? Where will the money for that come from? Can they afford to dip into their savings or retirement plans and pay when the money runs out? I doubt it. Their obligations extend to their extended families, and no matter what they think of SS, it pays for things they either will not want to pay for, or simply cannot. Getting rid of SS, when it pays for nursing homes and for disabilities is not the answer. It will just be replaced by something else, probably worse. If you want to change SS, make sure your congressmen pass laws that will put the money paid into it payable to the people who paid it, not to fund other things, like war and pork barrel projects.

Fixing SS requires smaller government (=less borrowing from the SS fund). That’s not what Mr. O stands for.

Do not save Social Security – END IT.
It was originally meant as a temporary solution at one point in time. I am 43 years old. I would be willing to give up everything I have paid into the system as long as I can stop paying now. I would like to invest my own money into my own savings account. I even have an idea on ending the program – a little too long for this blog.

I happen to have relatives in tow extreme cases. My grandparents (almost 90), have lived off SS for almost the last 30 years. They make per month $1600. Their prescriptions are more than $300 each (after the so-called Medicare Preserciption drug benefit). With Energy and grocery prices rising they have nothing left to live on. By the way (my GF a WWII Omaha D-Day vet) worked for one company (meat packing)for over 30 years.

Conversely, my aunt and uncle (other side of the family), sold a business in 1988 for almost $20 Million and retired. They just turned 62 and are taking in almost $3000 per month in SS even though they don’t “need” it. Considering they invested wisely, they have Rolexes and get new cars every year, and travel about 4 months of the year. Granted they made more while working, and therefore contributed much more. I would like to see the withdrawals ended for people with more than $1M in assets.

Also, put the money in SS in a “lockbox”. Gore was right…he told us with Bush in power we’d see $4 gas and the oil companies making record profits.

One last thing…bring on the value added tax. Tax the video games 25%. Federal gaming tax of 5% too! Another 5% for alcohol. Smokers another 5% tax. And…tax gas another 5%. After all these taxes…PAY OFF THE DEBT! And roll back these taxes until we have balance.

Congratulation to all the young people who “rock”. I think it is sad and pathetic to interject the current political misery into this unique celebration of young people’s accomplishments. Actually this cheapens their accomplishments. Again…congrats.

I applaud her for making an effort in doing something instead of simply saying something.

However, of all things, Social Security is a lost cause without a major overhaul, like raising the age to 75 or 80 and reducing the monthly amount, which is too little for what you put in anyway. The biggest problem is the idiots in Washington won’t update and change with the times.

I know at 26, I’ll NEVER have social security or medicaid, so I save every dime I can becuase I know I will HAVE to rely on it, and not some government handout unless a last resort.

I’ve been a firm believer that if you want to pay the higher taxes and have the government take care of you, then you should be allowed to put in the range that you want for what you want.

If you want to save all your money and do it yourself, pay the minimum, regardless of economic well being.

That is a true democracy. The funny thing is is that I would bet good money that they would earn the same amount through this way instead of a series of forced rates and rules.

How about we just push a student lead movement calling for the govmt to give me back my soc. sec. money, stop taking it and allow me to invest it myself. Than I can only blame myself if I do not have money to retire on. Lets bring personal responsibility back to the USA.

Wonderful idea to explore and try to right a terrible wrong when it comes to S.S. For too many years the” hand in the pot” has hurt the fund. Social Security has moved far, far away from it’s original purpose and is now being taxed similar to everything else of the “rank and file”

Echoing a lot of comments above, SS was and is a government-run Ponzi scheme that should have landed its backers in jail–had they been anything other than politicians, that’s exactly what would have happened to them.

Instead of fighting to save the Ponzi scheme, you ought to be fighting to abolish it–and invest the money you save in SS taxes for your own retirements. Depending on sponging off of other people is a losers proposition.