If you let the same guy rob you at gunpoint every day for 50 years because he promised he was “just keeping it safe” and would give it all back later.
Then one day you see him robbing your adult kids at gunpoint. Do you:
A: Realize this is insane.
B: Yell at your kids to stop complaining and just give him the money so he can pay you back.
This post definitely is not about Social Security.
“I paid into Social Security, so it's my money!"
Harsh truth: It’s not. In Flemming v. Nestor, SCOTUS ruled Social Security is just a tax, and you have zero legal property rights to benefits. It’s a broken system costing $1.7T annually.
Here’s a real solution:
For $20B/year, put $5K into an index fund for every baby born in America. With average historic returns, that $5K grows to nearly $3M by age 67.
"Crossfade" this strategy over a generation to phase out the old system. Perfect? No. Moral hazards? Sure. But only the government could turn a $20B solution into a $1.7T disaster. 💁♂️
@Fat_Electrician Rocky Flats Disaster: How making plutonium triggers for nukes in the 20th century led to one of first instances of one federal agency raiding another federal agency, and how this led to the modern Dept of Energy. Also now there’s a creepy horse statue for it