The system is designed to make us slaves. Because of all the money I've paid into the system (15% of my gross income per year) I've never any anything left over to save for retirement. And since SS retirement does not pay enough to live on, it means I won't be able to afford to retire and will have to keep working until I drop dead. Its a great system. Had I had that money to invest even in at fairly modest interest rates I'd probably have had a million dollars to retire on by now. Instead I get to work the rest of my life. I love it when the Democrats praise themselves for inventing the SS system and in the same breath say they are for the little guy. It make me want to vomit. Even at my advanced age, I'd opt out of the system tomorrow if I could.

It's too bad there is no one with any morals at all. If there were, you would ALL advocate ending the system now. It is immoral to take money from people using the threat of force no matter what the reason.

I don't know what rdan is referring to. What I do know is that if we had moved on this three years ago to turn it into a 401k/IRA type plan the transition cost would be estimated at about 3.5 Trillion dollars. Without doing anything, and keeping the benefit calculations and COLA escalator the same as now, it will cost us 7 Trillion. The result for retirees in the 'fix-it' instance would be a fund growth at about 5% a year compounded versus a historical SS growth of about 2% compounded. You can do the math, but it's obvious that over a 30 to 40 year career, that's a HUGE difference. It would certainly be my choice. In addition, I could have actual wealth to leave my wife or kid if I died before using up my fund.

Wow. Without a look at the numbers you guys do not understand a thing about SS.

Here is my thought on taxation, not exactly Social Security only, but on Taxation in general: if the IRS has to exist, (if it cannot be removed, or outlawed) why not change the business model of the IRS to a business-to-business relationship between the Feds and the States. What I mean is, why not make it such that individuals never file a Federal tax return only a local jurisdiction return (or no return if they live in sales tax only state). Then let the jurisdiction report its earnings, per person/capita to the next level up (county/state/Fed). In this way, real people would only file one tax return and the burden of county/state/federal filing could by handled by armies of state employees (since there are likely many state employees who are already employeed in tax offices). This would reduce the heavy burden individuals have to meet (some people file 3 returns, local/state/federal) to just one return, or possibly no return, if the state is a sales tax only state. I bet this would ease the burden of US citizens and at the same time ease the burden on the IRS because they would have comparatively fewer documents to review.

If all the talk to politicians does not help change the tax and spend government that we currently have, then try something different: send the following letter to whoever you know who is currently collecting Social Security (probably your parents, but possibly a sibling):

Dear Mom/Dad/Sibling,

Since I am still working and paying into Social Security and since it looks like it is hopelessy underfunded, please consider taking a big chunk of the check you receive (a dollar amount at least equal to how much I pay into the social security system from each paycheck) and putting into an IRA or some other tax deferred savings plan in my name (you wonderful son/daughter/sister/brother) or put it into an education fund of some sort to benefit my child. I think this is totally fair and I will tell you why Mom/Dad/Sibling. 1. Its fair because I am forced to pay into the social security system, if it was my choice, I would save this money myself, for my future, so I would not have to depend on a shaky/flaky government program that has been reducing benefits to people while raising the amount they force me to pay into it.
2. Its fair because if you, my beloved Mom/Dad/Sibling needed money or care, I would find a way to provide it to you in return for all the years of support you gave me while I was growing up and I would not rely on some third party (ie the government) to collect a fixed amount of money from everyone to give just to you.
3. Its fair because no matter how unpredictable you think the stock market is, the record shows that in any 5 year or 10 year period that you evaluate (all the way back to the first day the stock market existed) it has risen in value by about 11% a year on average.
4. Comparably, since the US government started collecting taxes, it has been unable to collect enough money, in any given year, to pay all its bills. Yes we have had a surplus, but when we had a surplus, our government did not use it to pay down debt thus there is no proof that even when our government has money, it does it spend it wisely.
5. It is fair because if I you consider the future value of any investment it is supposed to go up in value, but when you calculate all the money paid into the system by an individual who is now ready to start collecting the benefit, it does not even come close to representing the 11% the stock market seems to consistently produce.

So my dear Mom/Dad/Sibling, if you love me, give me back the money I contributed to the Social Security system on your behalf, and in return I promise I will invest it wisely and plan for my retirement carefully, so I don't have to come back home and live with you.

One of these days, our children will wake up and realize that the deduction from their paycheck designed for social security is in fact just another tax that they will never see again. The next question will be, "Why should I be paying this?"

Social Security can only work is if everyone of us Americans participate in the program. The bankers and those who wants to treat each of us Americans like sheep made for the slaughter by using the divide and conquer approach where they can kill each america citizens one by one in obscene get rich schemes that have always failed. If you let the wealthy control you pension just look at American history before the 1929 stock market crash. If you think these people are honest and hard working, who care about you; then you live in historical denial. Hopefully you will be the first to jump out the window to meet your maker out of greed. I would suggest America pick up a book and read about FDR and the Great Depression and how the Republican party drove this nation into the ground who tried to negotiate with the Nazis to protect the wealth of Americans in Germany!

There is nothing wrong with Social Security. The wealthy and their proxies have been at war with all of FDR's programs including Social Security. The wealthy own the banks who are angry that all of those trillions of American dollars are not in their banks to lend to their freinds on Wall Street so they can forget where the billions of dollars they have borrowed have disappear just like the savings and loans bank-robbery the wealthy and the CIA help to make a trillion of dollars to disappear. Social Security is an entitlement program just like the military. They are giving the military more money than what they deserve. Spreading democracy in the middle east for 3 trillion dollars is not that cost effective as far as I am concerned. Its cheaper for us to let them to live in a dictatorship. What are we going to do next overthrow the Saudis. That would be impossible because they are our partner in crime in trying to control all of the oil in the middle east. The Saudis have been with us from the beginning to make the Saudi the premier Muslim in the middle east. The military has two budgets. The one they show congress during the day time and the one they show congress in private when the lights are turned down very low. The wealthy will do anything they can by fabrication any lie under heaven to convince the American people whom they abandoned during the great depression, who left us hard working Americans all living in poverty after Secretary of Treasury Andrew Mellon, who loved his rich friends so much that he gave all of his rich friends like Bush 5 tax breaks who then abandoned America by investing their tax breaks in Germany's anti-Unions and anti-labor people who turned Germany into a rat state full of slave labor with their American created Right to work state laws to destroy organized labor. The only thing wrong with Social Security is that our politician can not keep their hands off of the peoples money, who are on the pay role of the international bankers to figure out a way to make social security to self destruct before our very eyes just like they did the savings and loans robbery while all the social security money is put on a ship to Switzerland for save keeping for the kings of the earth.

You brainwashed sheep. What makes you think government should have anything to do with anyones retirement? The system is a Ponzi scheme lie and should be eliminated immediately. If you and others want to pay for peole's retirement, fine, set up a voluntary system to do so, but don't take money by force from people to do what you want.

IF THE SENATORS AND REPRESENATIVES IN THE U.S. CONGRESS WERE HONEST AND WOULD NOT HAVE SIPHONED OFF THE SOCIAL SECURITY MONEY FOR PORK BARREL SPENDING, THE SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDS WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESERVED AND EVEN IF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO INVEST THE MONEY IN THE S&P 500 THERE WOULD NOT BE A CRISIS

Do You realy want to fix S.S.?
Make all senators and congressmen start paying into the system. Take away their privledged retirement.Be like the rest of us that work for a living, depend soley on SSI for retirement.I do believe they will have it fixed the next day.

Investing our SS is an excellent idea, s let's all do this.

Let's all DEMAND The Return of ALL the SS Funds we have paid in over the decades Here and Now!

Allow us to fend for ourselves before they spend it all.

Doesn't this make sense?

I have written to my congressman and requested the paperwork required for the return of my funds.

3 weeks, no reply.

Next, we need a congressman with BALLS, to introduce this type of Bill into the house & senate.

Lets Go Go Go before it's all GONE!

Sincerely

Mark Fortier Sr

ONE TAX AND DONE CAN BECOME LAW BY WRITING A SINGLE BILL:
EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 31, 2007, ALL EXISTING FEDERAL TAXES, FEES, AND CHARGES ARE REPEALED, AND ARE NULL AND VOID.
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2008, ALL FEDERAL TAX REVENUE SHALL BE COLLECTED USING A SINGLE FULL-INCOME TAX LEVIED ON LIVING PERSONS. THERE SHALL BE NO EXEMPTIONS OR DEDUCTIONS.
A THREE-FIFTH (3/5) MAJORITY VOTE BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IS REQUIRED TO INCREASE TAX RATES.
SIXTEEN PERCENT (16%) OF ALL TAX REVENUE SHALL BE PLACED IN A SEPARATE ACCOUNT NOT ACCESSIBLE TO CONGRESS, TO FUND SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE.
THE OFFICIAL DEFINITION OF INCOME IS THIS: INCOME SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, WAGES, SALARY, TIPS, ROYALTIES, STOCK OPTIONS, INHERITANCES (NOT INCLUDING PRIMARY FAMILY RESIDENCES BEQUEATHED TO SPOUSES; OR FAMILY FARMS OR SMALL FAMILY BUSINESSES BEQUEATHED TO FAMILY MEMBERS), ALL INTEREST INCLUDING THAT FROM MUNICIPAL BONDS, DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS (NOT INCLUDING INCREASE IN ASSESSED VALUE OF FAMILY HOME), PENSION PAYMENTS, WELFARE PAYMENTS, FOOD SUBSIDIES, CLOTHING SUBSIDIES, HOUSING SUBSIDIES, ALL BENEFITS AND PERQUISITES OF PUBLIC OFFICE, PROFITS RECEIVED BY OWNERS OF SMALL BUSINESSES, AND PROCEEDS FROM ALL CRIMINAL ACTIONS.