In article , Bert says...

You're right in the sense that there was never a promise to give back
the money that was paid in as SS tax. On the other hand, there has
always been a promise (certainly implied, but also I believe
explicitly voiced by various Congressmen and Presidents over the
years) that SS would still be around to provide at least *some*
retirement benefits for everyone who contributed.

Well, that's a nice story.

There are certain things that politicians cannot
do. One is come right out, and say "we're going
to keep on funding the present crop of retirees
after X date, but after that the wage earners
will still have to pay SS tax until the last
recipient (and all the SS paper pushers) die,
but won't receive any benefit at all.

The other thing they cannot do is say, we're
simply going to abolish the system completely,
no more payroll tax, no more benefits. Too bad
for the folks that contributed and are going
to get nothing.

But aside from that, they can pull all kinds of
shenanigans, and nothing, and I mean absolutely
NOTHING is ruled out. There have been no promises,
nothing that would stand up in court, the government
can and will cut the water off when they think
it's the right time.

A scheme like SS is great, but it's a bit like
drinking from a spitoon. Real tough to stop
once you start.

Jim

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