On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 18:50:36 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:

And most of the money paid in has been stolen. Whoops. Pols don't steal. They
simply take and use for other purposes.

It's supposed to be a pay as you go program, but for at least 3 decades,
excess is collected and put in the "trust" fund. Since hiding cash for
long periods of time is a good way to see it evaporate through inflation,
the govmint "invests" the trust fund money in govmint IOU's to be paid
back with a small interest rate in the future using govmint profits (more
taxes for future generations). Meanwhile, the current excess SS taxes are
spent on us, now. And all this by folks who talk about all the things we
must do "for the children". Worst of all, the debt in this and 40 or so
other "trust" funds is counted as an asset rather than a liability! Some
estimates place the amount of these "assets" at $40 _trillion_ in the
next3 or 4 decades. Makes the national debt look miniscule.

By the way, when in the '30s was it 300 to 1?

It was more like 30-something to one, and the average lifespan at the time
was 65, meaning the program didn't have to pay out for long.

SS was never intended, or, rather, was not originally intended, as a
complete retirement program. It was to be a supplement for those who
couldn't make enough money to save on their own, but was never intended
to be all the income anyone had. Of course, now it often is and in some
areas, for some people, it is more than adequate.

The sad part is many otherwise intelligent folks think SS will take care
of them and forego any planning/savings on their own.

If you want to go through an interesting exercise, look for your next
statement from SS listing the years and amounts you have paid in. Then
apply a reasonable return of say 6% for the first year, add the next years
contribution, apply 6%, etc. You'll discover you could retire at 55 with
about double the money SS will pay you, and never reduce the current
value. Compound interest is wonderful! And if we had all done this on
our own, not only would we be better off, but wouldn't be leaving
trillions of debt to be paid by future generations.

All this is why I put 10% of gross away as untouchable starting about 30
years ago and have my kids doing the same. Talk about a safety net...

--
-Doug